Asunder
by UberFaenatic
Summary: When Bo's Dawning ends catastrophically, the most improbable member of the gang travels to the unlikeliest of places in search of the only person capable of helping make things right again. Valkubus. *IMPORTANT NOTICE* This story has been completed. I'm just working on a short epilogue and will post daily updates. I love reviews! So please comment if you like what you see. :)
1. Disaster at the Dal

The deafening silence should have been her first clue that something was terribly awry, but Tamsin was too distracted.

She truly had wanted to be here for Bo's Dawning, though she knew she wouldn't be welcomed given her allegiance to the dark.

Not that that would have stopped her. Had Dyson not bailed on her earlier in the day to be here for Bo himself, she would have figured out some way to be here. She had a right to be, after all. She was the one who was there for Bo's invitation trials. She was the one who was with her in Brazenwood, not Dyson.

Of course, thinking about Brazenwood brought about very specific memories. And feelings. Tamsin shook her head to dislodge where that thought process took her.

She wanted to be here to celebrate Bo's successful Dawning because it was due her. Nothing more. Given her orders, she couldn't afford more, not now.

Not ever.

The door to the Dal creaked open and the oppressive silence finally captured her attention. Her brow furrowed as she took in her surroundings.

A few tables were over turned, some were busted apart and scattered across the floor. Broken glass litered her path to the bar and crunched beneath her feet. She looked down as she almost tripped.

Over a _body_.

She'd seen enough battlefields during her many lives to recognize that she was on one now. She wondered who won.

The sound of Tamsin's cell phone buzzing jarred her out of her musings as it resounded loudly from the lapel pocket of her blue jacket, interrupting the desolate quiet of her ravaged surroundings. A quick check of the display screen revealed the call was coming from the office of the Morrigan. The valkyrie mentally rolled her eyes, dispatched the call without answering and continued to look around the pub for any signs of life.

"Hello?" Tamsin called out. "Anyone else here? Preferably alive," she muttered the last part under her breath. After a full circuit of the Dal, she came across Trick's still form, alive but unconscious, and two other women. One of them human, and one fae. Both dead. The fae she didn't recognize...but the human, the one she almost tripped over before...

Tamsin sighed. It was the succubus's most recent lover and infamous doctor for the light fae, Lauren Lewis. Bo will not be pleased about this at all.

Bo. Tamsin scowled. Where the hell was she? And where was Dyson? And what about her human pet?

As if on cue, the blonde heard groaning and traced it to a portion of the ceiling which had fallen down and obscured another form from her initial search.

"Holy shit balls _on fire_..."

Tamsin pulled the ceiling away from the young goth girl and leaned down next to her. Kenzi's mouth seemed to be working just fine, but the rest of her, the valkyrie pursed her lips. The human was bleeding from a wide variety of cuts on her face and exposed areas on her arms. Minor wounds were visible from where her clothing was torn. But the most troubling injury was a gash on her forehead. She'd seen enough injuries over the centuries to recognize this one was life threatening.

"Kenzi." Tamsin reached in her pocket for a handkerchief and pressed it firmly against Kenzi's most serious wound on the right side of her head. "You wanna tell me what happened here or what?"

"OWWW. Dammit! What the hell...Tamsin?"

"That's me, short stack."

"Hey now! Don't call me short and if I wasn't clear before, _OWWWWW!_"

"Stop whining, Kenzi. We have to staunch the bleeding somehow and it's not like I have a medkit on me to help out."

"Yeah, whatevs," Kenzi mumbled.

"So? You gonna tell me what caused this?" Bedside nurturing wasn't really her thing but she tried to gentle her tone of voice for Kenzi's sake.

The young human swallowed and took a shuddering breath before making eye contact with Tamsin, her voice soft to the point of almost being inaudible. "It...it was Bo."

"What? Bo did this?" Tamsin leaned forward to look deep within the girl's eyes. "Are you certain?"

And for a moment, she was pulled back in time to when she questioned someone everyone thought was Kenzi about the death of a beautiful light fae blond woman named Riley. Kenzi, who had originally provided Bo with an alibi, had turned on her and dispassionately relayed that dead bodies were par for the course for a succubus. It was that lack of feeling when discussing Bo turning into a homicidal maniac plus her penchant for chewing on shiny silver jewelry that clued Tamsin in on the fact that they were dealing with a devious and mentally unstable Kitsune named Inari.

Inari hadn't cared about the implications of her phony confession. She hadn't cared that the idea of killing innocents horrified Bo. Kitsune Kenzi only cared about how she could benefit from the predicament she put Bo in and the lifeless expression in her eyes communicated as much.

This woman, however, was tormented by what she knew. By what she saw.

"It was her, Tamsin. It was Bo."

Tamsin looked away and took a deep breath as she tried to rein in her volatile emotions, shock and anger in equal measure battling within her for dominance. Anger won out.

"Where is she now, Kenzi? And where the hell is Dyson?"

"_Please_," Kenzi whimpered, and Tamsin realized she had unconsciously grabbed the lapels of Kenzi's partially shredded vest as though she were a hostile.

"Sorry," she loosened her hold and forced herself to calm down. Allowing rage to take hold of her now wouldn't fix anything and by the looks of things, Kenzi needed help sooner rather than later.

Kenzi groaned and Tamsin knew she had to act fast, for Bo's sake if nothing else. She knew that Bo would never have wreaked this kind of damage had she been in her right mind and; if by some miracle they were able to catch her and bring her back to her senses, she'd need to have the kind of emotional support only her best friend could provide. Especially once she found out she was responsible for killing Lauren.

Tamsin took a last look around. There was nothing she could do here, not now at least.

Damn. Could this be any more of a shitstorm than it already was?

The valkyrie reached down, gently lifted Kenzi in her arms and headed out of the Dal. "Where are you taking me?" Kenzi's voice was weak and Tamsin masked her concern with a smirk.

"Relax, peewee. I'm taking you to get some help."

Kenzi closed her eyes against the throbbing, stabbing pain in her head. "Told ya...don't be dissin' my height... if you know...what's good for you..." her voice trailed off as she lost consciousness, her body nuzzling against the body holding her, seeking comfort.

"Whatever you say, shortie," Tamsin whispered to the girl who meant so much to Bo and cradled her closer to her chest protectively as she made her way to her truck.

Though, if asked, she would deny to her dying day that the gesture meant she actually cared one way or the other about the little human. 


	2. The Power of Persuasion

"I need some help here!" Tamsin announced as she rushed into the emergency room of Mercy Hospital with Kenzi, who had not regained consciousness since her brief moments of awareness at the Dal.

"You! Over here, _now!_"

The ER doctor Tamsin was gesturing toward barely acknowledged her presence and slowly made his way over to the duo, pausing a few times to respond to various inquiries he received from nurses and other patients.

And speaking of patience, Tamsin was swiftly losing what little she had as she watched his arrogant demeanor and lack of regard for her sense of urgency. The valkyrie placed Kenzi on a nearby cot and was reminded once more why she spent as little time around humans as she possibly could.

In the good ol' days she could and did use her very special talents to lay waste to legions of humans. The fortunes of men and nations turned on her will alone. And now?

"Alright now, what do we have here?"

Now she had to deal with insufferably arrogant humans and pretend she wasn't mentally drawing and quartering them.

"This girl was in a car accident so I got her here as quickly as possible."

"You moved a victim from the scene of an accident? Are you _insane?_" The doctor groused as he began examining the injured girl and Tamsin grit her teeth and prayed for something to distract her from the sudden, almost irresistible urge to snuff the life of this irritating gnat.

"I'm a police detective. I was trying to get her here quickly. She didn't look like she could wait for an ambulance."

The doctor grunted disapprovingly as he continued looking Kenzi over. "If you're really a police detective, you should know how dangerous it is to move a victim before she's examined, not to mention it's against procedure."

Tamsin's patience finally snapped and she grabbed the lapels of his lab coat and lurched him forward so that his face hovered a few inches from her own. "Look pal, I have better things to do than to waste my time arguing with you about what I should or should not have done. It's over. She's here. So will you take care of her or not?!"

She would have been lying had she said she hadn't been somewhat pleased by the shiver of fear she felt coming from her human prey; however it wasn't his anxiety she craved, rather, his compliance.

Not for the first time, she wished she had Bo's power of persuasion, where the target willingly succumbed to her will as opposed to being terrorized into it. Even now, she knew if Bo were here she would gently caress this idiot's hand and send waves of her delicious energy into him and request in that silky smooth voice of hers that the doctor please do whatever he could to help her friend. And the doctor would swear by any deity he knew to do whatever she wanted so long as she never stopped touching him.

But her powers? She knew if she used even the smallest measure on him that he'd be worthless to her and Kenzi's life would be in even greater danger. Not to mention it would draw unwanted attention from the other humans lurking about.

Tamsin sighed and attempted to ratchet her irritation level down to something more manageable as she released his lab coat and allowed him some breathing room.

"Sorry about that. I'm a little under the gun right now. Will you help her?"

Now that he wasn't as freaked out as he had been moments before, the doctor's surly attitude returned to the fore. "This is an emergency room, isn't it? Of course we'll take care of her. We just need to get her processed first."

"Fine. Whatever." Tamsin was about to walk away when she noticed Kenzi was missing an earring. How she had missed that before was a mystery to her; she was usually much more observant than that. Not to mention the fact that the goth's earrings were huge. Of course, she was under an inordinate amount of pressure given the scene she left behind at the Dal.

The doctor had apparently called for help during the blonde's musings and some nurses came over to assist in moving Kenzi into an examining room.

The valkyrie followed along for a few steps and she reached in her pocket for a business card and pen. She scribbled the number for the Dal on the back and handed the card over to him. "Here's my card. If you need anything you can reach me either on my cell or by calling the number on the back."

The doctor muttered some response under his breath that Tamsin chose to ignore and she decided she needed to go back to the Dal.

It was time for some answers.

* * *

So these early chapters are pretty darn short. lol I didn't realize how short until posting it here. Don't worry...later chapters get much longer. ;)

If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask!


	3. Dawning Debacle

Only a few short hours had passed when Tamsin finally made her way back through the doors of the Dal, but she could already see a marked improvement. For one thing, the bodies were gone. For another, Trick was awake and aware, directing others in the cleanup efforts.

"Trick," Tamsin announced her presence as she sat at the bar.

"We're closed," Trick growled, not able nor willing to hide his frustration and burning anger from the valkyrie. Surprisingly, Tamsin wasn't bothered by his attitude and in some odd way, she actually found comfort in it.

"No doubt, especially given what I saw here earlier."

"_What?_ You were here earlier? What did you see?" Trick was almost frantic as he grabbed her arm.

"Easy, old man. I didn't see what happened...only the aftermath."

"You didn't?"

"But I do know what happened. Bo's human told me when she woke up briefly."

"Kenzi? Where is she? Did you take her to the Morrigan?" Trick held her tighter and shook her.

"Trick! Focus!" Tamsin grabbed his shoulder and forced him to look her in the eye. "I took her to a human hospital. Why would I take her to the Morrigan? She'd have her killed, but only after she tortured her for days for information. I wouldn't do that to her, nor would I do that to Bo."

The bartender seemed to deflate. "You're right. Of course you're right. Sorry." Trick released his hold on the blonde and she took that as her cue to back down as well. Something caught her eye on the floor and she picked up the object, recognizing it instantly as Kenzi's earring.

"She lost this earlier. I noticed it was missing while we were at the hospital," Tamsin handed the item over to Trick who she knew had sort of adopted the girl as a member of his extended family.

"Tell me what happened. I know that Bo did this but I don't know why." Trick took the earring and paused, using the opportunity to read the expression of the woman before him. Her tone wasn't accusatory, only concerned. As much as she tried to hide it, as much as she would deny it, she did care about Bo and by extension, about Kenzi. He suddenly felt bad that he had thought so poorly about her. Even though he knew Tamsin had been trying to incarcerate his granddaughter since she arrived in town, he also knew instinctively that she was an ally, unlikely though it may seem.

He sighed as he made the decision to tell her the truth. "I don't know, exactly. Dyson," Trick exhaled sharply as he remembered the scene. "Dyson offered to be her hand."

"Of course he did," Tamsin grumbled. "Bet that went over like a nun in a whorehouse."

Trick's brow furrowed, not having heard that particular turn of phrase before but understanding the inference. "You'd be surprised. Lauren...Lauren was here and she voiced her full approval. She wanted to make sure that Bo had all the help she'd need to succeed."

"Yeah and I bet the fact that he wouldn't make it out alive was an added bonus for the good doctor," the valkyrie growled.

"To be fair, I don't think she knew about that important caveat. Besides, it was Dyson's choice...his sacrifice to make."

Tamsin grunted.

Trick eyed her knowingly. "Are you suggesting that you wouldn't have done the same thing had you been in his place?"

The blonde was flustered. As a warrior and a valkyrie she believed there's no greater honor than to die during battle, especially if the cause was worthy. And there were few causes as great as defending a valiant hero. She sure as shit knew her life wasn't worth nearly as much as Bo's, especially since she was probably on her way out anyway. But he couldn't know all of that.

Hell, he couldn't know any of that.

How could she possibly answer his question?

Trick spared her from responding and continued his story. "In any case, things didn't turn out the way we hoped." Tamsin looked up and saw Trick struggle through his memories. These kinds of touchy-feely moments made her uncomfortable but she did her best to keep her thoughts to herself so hopefully Trick would hurry up and get to the punchline.

"I don't know what happened inside the temple; but when the portal opened up, Dyson was practically spit out of it. He didn't have much time to recover as moments later, Bo came through as well. At least, we think it's Bo."

"You think? How are you not sure?"

"You have to understand, Tamsin. It looked sort of like Bo, but sort of not. Actually it looked more like a demon who bore a passing resemblance to Bo."

Tamsin was appalled, unable to process what she was hearing.

"Are...are you saying she failed the Dawning? That she devolved?"

"That would be my best guess, yes."

Several moments of silence passed as each tried in vain to digest the idea that the Bo that they knew, the sweet, selfless, virtuous succubus...was no more.

"God," the valkyrie exclaimed. This was the worst possible scenario on a list of really crappy scenarios.

"I tried to...to stop her," Trick looked at his shotgun and the implication was clear. "I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. I was certain I had loaded the thing before Bo and Dyson went into the temple, but I guess I had forgotten. I loaded a few shells as quickly as I could and fired."

"You missed?" Tamsin inferred.

The Blood King shook his head. "No, I hit her. In the shoulder. She...she screamed and her arms were flailing. The next thing I knew, she struck Dyson and...somehow...sent him backwards into the temple."

"That...that shouldn't have happened," the valkyrie was stunned.

"You're telling me. It's supposed to be a one way portal."

"What happened next?" Tamsin asked, almost afraid to hear what he had to say.

"It's all a jumble...but I saw Kenzi fly past me. I think she was trying to reach Bo to calm her down and, well, it backfired on her."

Tamsin nodded, urging him to continue.

"She was enraged. I don't even remember half of what she said and then I watched as she levitated off the ground and pulled chi out of everyone in the room, except for Kenzi who was, as I guess, where you found her."

"Buried in the rubble."

"Yes. The rest of us, however, weren't quite as...fortunate. Lauren and Stella..." Trick choked up again and Tamsin realized he was referring to the fae she hadn't recognized earlier, who apparently meant a great deal to him. She should have felt awkward, but inexplicably at that moment, she shared in his loss. Their loss.

Bo.

Trick turned to the shelf behind him and gathered a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

"So... what now?

Trick poured their drinks before answering. "We have to find her and we have to stop her, if we can."

Tamsin took a swig of her drink and nodded. "We can't let anyone know about this. Especially not the Ash nor the Morrigan. Each side would be too interested in apprehending her for their own purposes."

"Agreed." Trick drank more of his whiskey as he considered his next words. "I want you to find her, Tamsin."

"What? _Me?_"

Tamsin's cell phone buzzed, rescuing her from having to answer Trick right away. She looked, and it was the Morrigan trying to reach her again. It's like she could read her mind and knew exactly when was the worse possible time to call her. Tamsin refused the call once more and turned back to Trick.

"I don't think that's a good idea, old man."

"Old? Who are you calling old?" the bartender chuckled. "I know more about you than you think, valkyrie."

Tamsin smirked. "Perhaps you do, but that doesn't mean I'm the right person for this job."

"You...are the perfect person for this job. I need someone I can trust, someone who Bo trusts..."

"Look, I don't know if I..."

Trick ignored her interruption and continued. "I need someone who cares about Bo and wants to protect her. If Dyson were available...Dyson..." Trick's voice trailed off and Tamsin felt trapped.

Bo might trust her but she shouldn't, and neither should Trick. As for her feelings? They weren't relevant. Feelings had never interfered with her duty before, no matter how much she wanted to believe Bo had influenced her life.

Of course, with Bo's Dawning ending in disaster as it did, perhaps her other job ended too. Would that mean she'd be given a new mission or would she be rewarded with a rebirth after all? So many questions.

Too many.

The blonde realized that Trick had been waiting patiently as she scrolled through her mental monologue.

"Trick, I..._fine_. I'll do it," she heard herself say. Trick was elated. Tamsin, however, was stunned. Why did she agree to this? Was it for Bo's sake? Or her employer? Or both? Tamsin mentally shook her head. Things were too crazy right now for her to try to dissect her true motivations, whatever the hell they were.

She needed to get her head out of her ass and into the game.


	4. Intervention

It took a few days, several called in debts, and a few well placed and well delivered threats, but Tamsin finally found her quarry holed up in a junk yard a few towns over. Bo, or rather what was left of her, seemed to retain enough of herself to not draw too much attention to her feeding signature but not enough to keep her from leaving a series of gruesome, scorched crime scenes in her wake.

Nearby towns had simply assumed they had a new serial killer on their hands and were scurrying to convene a task force to capture their prey. But one of the cities in question had a dark fae bloodhound shifter on staff as a police detective and he had been able to sense beyond the burnt remains of the bodies that the humans had died as the result of a succubus feeding gone too far.

When he found out that Tamsin was looking for this succubus, he knew he could kill two birds with one stone. His centuries old debt to the valkyrie would finally be paid in full and this demon would be taken care of and removed from his territory without his having to lift so much as a finger.

Tamsin slowly made her way into the junk yard and looked for the succubus. "Alright, Bo. I know you're here somewhere," she muttered under her breath. A loud banging sound from her left and she jerked her head around in time to see...a monster. The beast turned toward Tamsin and she blanched.

There was no doubt it was Bo. Her face was the same...and so were her eyes, although they held none of the warmth of the Bo she knew. But this being was larger, taller and more muscular. Her skin was blood red.

And then there were the horns.

Oh. My God. _Bo._

Tamsin took a deep, shuddering breath and rallied as she put on her best tough as shit expression. "Alright Bo, playtime's over."

Bo turned and faced the valkyrie with something akin to hatred burning in her eyes and rushed toward her with a speed more common with that of a wolf than a succubus.

Faster than Tamsin could respond, Bo was on top of her and screaming at her furiously.

_Holy shit_, Tamsin thought as she saw Bo's eyes glow a brighter blue than she'd ever seen before. She held the valkyrie down by the neck, choking her, and started to feed off of her but Tamsin was strong enough to resist and fight back.

God, this was going to hurt.

The valkyrie willed her visage to change to its natural form as she grasped ahold of Bo's face and focused her attention. "You don't want to do this, Bo. You want to give up and come with me, don't you? Make this easy for the both of us."

Bo shook her head vigorously as she tried to dislodge the doubt Tamsin was placing in her mind, but rather than become weakened or discouraged by the valkyrie's powers, she seemed invigorated by them. Before Tamsin had a chance to react, Bo had yanked her off the ground by the throat and had thrown her across the yard into and through a stack of decrepit cars located at least a football field away.

Tamsin was shaken, but not defeated. Bloodied and bruised, and fairly certain her left arm was broken, she slowly pulled herself up to her knees. She didn't get any further as the dizziness from using her powers overwhelmed her and she was forced to grasp the bumper of a junk yard car.

She watched a tuft of her hair float gently to the ground...the same ground which somehow seemed to be spinning dangerously beneath her knees.

She heard a growl and before she had a chance to prepare herself, Bo was back and appeared to be readying herself for a new attack. The valkyrie knew she had no way to stop her. Power wise, she was completely tapped out so she did the only thing she could think of.

She prepared for her death.

Tamsin's eyes softened as she looked up to face her...adversary? Friend? Object of her ill-timed affection? "Bo," she began in a choked whisper, but couldn't come up with anything else to say to this woman who was unlike anyone she had ever known.

But somehow her voice reached through to where Bo still was and as the blonde watched, the glaze in Bo's eyes lessened and an alertness that wasn't there before became more apparent.

"Tam...Tamsin?"

Time seemed to slow and then stop as soft brown eyes met and locked with icy green until finally, Tamsin was forced to succumb to the beckoning darkness.

"Tamsin," Bo knelt beside the mostly unconscious valkyrie and gently caressed her face. "I'm so sorry," she choked as a lonely tear made its way down her cheek. "I'm so sorry," Bo repeated and Tamsin watched through hazy eyes as Bo ran off.

And she was aware no more.

An unknown amount of time later, a masculine voice jarred her back to full consciousness.

"I must say you're something of a disappointment, valkyrie."

Tamsin's eyes popped open, almost as if on command and she noticed a man standing before her she didn't recognize. She unsteadily eased her beaten body upward, noticing that several of the more painful injuries had at least partially healed. Her arm no longer felt broken and she was pleased as always that her unplanned nap had helped in speeding her recovery.

Rapid healing processes were definitely a plus when you live to fight, Tamsin mused.

"Well, I'd apologize if I knew who the hell you were, or cared, for that matter," Tamsin snarked.

The man laughed and the sound was not pleasant. Grating would be a more accurate adjective. "Oh come now, don't tell me you're stupid too?" he remarked as he turned and faced her. The smirk dropped from her expression.

She had never met him face to face before and had no reason to recognize him; and yet, she just knew.

It was him. Her employer.

Bo's father.

His eyes were dark and lifeless. He held a cane in his hand and wore an amethyst colored amulet around his neck that pulsed with an energy she couldn't identify.

Tamsin pulled herself the rest of the way to her feet. There was no way she was going to signal weakness before this man if she could at all help it.

She decided to jump into the deep end.

"I thought Bo was going to pass her Dawning."

The man laughed again and Tamsin grit her teeth. It was like nails on a chalkboard, really. "Oh, my dear Tamsin, she did pass her Dawning."

"W-what?"

"My daughter did everything I wanted and more. She is everything I could have hoped for."

The blonde was sure she misunderstood. "How can you say that? Did you see what she looks like now? Do you know what she did to her friends? To her loved ones?"

The Wanderer grinned. "Yes. And wasn't it glorious?"

Tamsin shook her head disbelievingly.

"Why do you think Bo's Dawning is 200 years too early? That was my doing, as was the chimera who just happened to appear in the temple and prevent my beloved child from successfully completing her mission on time."

The valkyrie tried to gulp down her anger and shock, but to no avail. "You sabotaged your own daughter's Dawning? But...but _WHY?! _ I thought you wanted her to still be Bo...be sane and whole...not this...demon who kills indiscriminately!"

"I need her to reach her full potential and she can this way, Tamsin, in a way that would not have been possible otherwise." The Wanderer gentled his tone and affected what to the untrained eye would have looked like a caring expression. "But she needs your help now more than ever. She needs you to help make her whole."

The woman wasn't fooled for a moment. Beyond what she had seen here with her own eyes, she knew too much about him to believe the ridiculous loving father routine he was putting on for her benefit.

But still. If he knew someway to help Bo, to save her...she had to at least try.

"What are you suggesting, Wanderer?"

The man smirked again as he heard the skepticism in her tone of voice that was verging on ridicule and chose to mostly drop the façade when he saw she wasn't buying his act.

"You need to acquire the Mirror of Sisuthros by any means necessary. Both the mirror and the bracelet that comes with it. Do so and you will have the tools you need to heal my child."

Tamsin huffed, doubtingly.

"Am I allowed to ask what this Mirror and bracelet do or where I can find them or am I just supposed to guess wildly and hope I land on the right idea eventually?"

"You're a _smart_ girl, Tamsin. I'm sure you'll figure out a way to get your hands on what you need. As for what they do, you'll learn for yourself. In due time."

Tamsin growled internally. Her life had been on the line, literally, with regard to her first mission, which was find the daughter and deliver her to the Wanderer. She had always known he was dangerous and now that she had met him? She shuddered. Tamsin didn't know what his game was but she knew deep in her guts that he did not have Bo's best interest at heart. Of course, that line of thinking brought her back to her own twisted motivations.

Best not to go there for the time being.

And what about this new mission? What if this mirror somehow did help fix Bo? What would that mean for her? For the succubus? Oh how she hated this man.

"Careful Tamsin, it's not wise to think such things in the presence of a god."

The valkyrie groaned. He can read her mind. Of course he can.

_Shit._

The Wanderer laughed again and Tamsin did her level best to control her thoughts and her responses, not wanting to give him anymore ammunition to use against her.

"You will have the knowledge of where to find the items you seek once you regain full awareness. How you get them is up to you."

So he was going to tell her after all. Wait... regain full awareness?

She was still unconscious?

The Wanderer faded from view as Tamsin opened her eyes and found two of the Morrigan's minions standing in front of her.

"You've not been answering your phone, valkyrie. The Morrigan is not pleased and has ordered that you appear before her. NOW."

She was still too weak to resist and too woozy to even put up a verbal fuss as they dragged her to a four door-sedan parked nearby.

_Double shit._


	5. Captive Audience

"Ah. Look at what the cat dragged in. Have a seat, blondie," the Morrigan ordered her two henchmen to leave as she sat behind her desk.

Tamsin settled in a relatively comfortable chair opposite the leader of her clan and did her best to look completely unperturbed.

Except she was perturbed. Way freakin' perturbed. Not by the Morrigan and her goons but by everything else she had been through recently. By the Wanderer and his probably nefarious plans for Bo.

But Evony didn't need to know that.

"The fellas told me you tried to reach me. Sorry I missed your call."

"Calls, Tamsin. Multiple calls. Over the course of several days."

Tamsin smirked unrepentantly and shrugged. "Must have been a bad signal."

"Oh I'm sure that must be the case, especially where you're concerned," the Morrigan rebutted. "Tell me, darling, exactly how long have you known that my favorite succubitch is now a raving lunatic on a homicidal binge across five counties?"

Tamsin felt a little of her composure slip but was able to regroup before anyone noticed.

"I'd say your sources for intel must be slipping. Nothing could be further from the truth."

"Really? You want to play it this way?"

Tamsin maintained her cool and watched as the Morrigan became increasingly agitated. Evony's obsession with Bo would ultimately be her undoing, the valkyrie surmised.

"Let me remind you, you already have one strike against you for failing to deliver the succubus for her role in killing that dark fae outside the Dal Riata."

_She didn't kill him, you miserable wench. I did, to put him out of his misery and protect Bo from the likes of you._

"Still bitter about that, are you? Not that I blame you. It was such a shame he...expired...before he had a chance to tell us what happened to him."

"You mean finger Bo."

Tamsin's lip quirked at the double entendre. "Regardless, she wasn't guilty then and she isn't guilty now. You know, you really should see someone about that hard on you keep sporting for the unaligned succubus." The valkyrie knew she was pushing it but she couldn't seem to help herself.

The Morrigan was fuming. "Listen, bitch, one word from me and..."

She knew she had to give Evony something to appease her. She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, interrupting the Morrigan mid-threat. "Look. I can confirm something significant did happen at the Dal. Your sources were partially right. And it was a succubus, just not the one you want. This one...she apparently has some sort of a personal vendetta against the barkeeper and ended up killing not only the woman he had a thing for... but also the light fae's human doctor."

The Morrigan inched closer, fully engaged in the conversation now. "Lewis? You're telling me Lauren Lewis is dead?" It was clear that she was genuinely surprised, which meant her intel was spotty at best. Tamsin could hardly believe it, but it seemed she might actually have a chance to pull this off after all.

"Yes. Apparently this succubus went on a rampage and did quite a bit of damage." Tamsin held her breath. This would either sell it or the whole lie would fall apart. "Bo was there and so was her human pet. Both of them were wounded and, from what I've gathered, have been spirited away, apparently for their own protection, though I can't imagine why."

"I can."

Tamsin fixed a confused expression on her face and waited to see if Evony really was taking the bait or if she was playing her.

The Morrigan paused, as if trying to come to a decision of sorts. "The succubus you're talking about...she's the barkeep's daughter...and also..."

"...and also, Bo's mother," the valkyrie feigned shocked disbelief. "Well, that would explain why she would target Trick and his merry band, but not what her vendetta is against them. What did they do?"

The Morrigan stood up. "That, my dear, is another story for another day." Tamsin rose and stood next to her "leader". "Not bad, valkyrie. This information may be of use to me at some point."

The blonde smiled. "What do you want me to do now?"

Both ladies walked toward the dark fae leader's express elevator. "Keep an eye on the situation. If any information surfaces about the insane succubitch or her spawn, let me know right away, got it?"

Tamsin bowed lightly, "I live to serve." She really did push her luck with the Morrigan more than she should and she knew one day it would more than likely bite her in the ass. Hopefully, though, she would be fast enough to avoid having her brain melted.

The Morrigan eyed her suspiciously for a few moments then nodded and took her leave as the blonde entered the elevator. The valkyrie watched her leader walk away as the doors slid closed.

"_Sucker_."


	6. Dark Acquisition

"Well, this certainly is something," Tamsin muttered under her breath as she entered a building that was pretending to be a chic dark fae dance club named the _Dark Screw_, but was in reality nothing more than a seedy dive.

She didn't need to be a succubus to sense the sexual energy in this club, which was through the roof. She'd been acquainted with any number of succubi and inccubi throughout her lifetimes. None of them were like Bo.

No one was like Bo.

Tamsin wondered how Bo would behave in a place like this. Not the crazed devolved being she was now, but her Bo, the strong yet gentle, honorable fae who put the needs of virtual strangers before her own on a regular basis. She suspected she'd find some way to do something unnecessarily self-sacrificial and virtuous, just because that's who she is.

She sighed and chastised herself for the umpteenth time for allowing herself to be distracted thinking about something she could never have when she had a job to do.

And speaking of the job...Tamsin smirked. There was her mark sitting in the corner of the bar getting wasted.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

She made her way through the crowd of human and fae alike and sidled up to him, leaning close enough to whisper in his ear so he could hear her over the music. "Fancy meeting you in a place like this."

The man turned abruptly and started laughing when he saw the smiling face of the blonde who was addressing him. "Tamsin, my love. What are you doin' way out in the middle of nowhere? Got on the Morrigan's last nerve, have ya?"

"You know me, Vex. Always happy to drive our beloved leader just a little bit crazier than she already is."

Vex laughed. "Yeah, no doubt about that, love. So why are you here? I doubt you came all this way to reminisce over the bad ol' days and something tells me you're not interested in a little rough and tumble under the sheets with your favorite mesmer, am I right?"

"Not unless my favorite mesmer wants to keep his dangly bits attached," Tamsin quipped.

Vex grunted. "What is it with women these days threatening to do damage to my equipment? I give and give and this is what I get in return. It's bloody maddening, I tell you."

"Relax, Vex. No, I'm not interested in reminiscing and no, I'm not interested in taking you for a spin."

"Again."

The valkyrie groaned. "Yes, again. God, are you ever going to forget that? It was 150 years ago."

"One hundred and fifty-two years, three months and seven days, but who's counting?"

"Vex..." Tamsin warned.

"Okay, okay. I won't bring it up again. For at least another century." Vex grinned unapologetically and Tamsin sighed, knowing it was the best she could expect. "So? What gives, blondie?"

Tamsin shook her head and allowed their previous conversation to wash over her like water off a duck's back. "I have a mission for you, Vex. Something that takes advantage of your..._unique_ skillset."

The mesmer straightened in his seat. "A mission? You joking or something? Haven't heard my wing's been clipped, have you? That's a cruel sense of humor you've got there, love."

Tamsin smirked, having anticipated this evasion. "As a matter of fact I did hear something about you losing your powers. Rumor was you were planning on visiting a monk or two? Get in touch with your inner pervert?"

"Heh...well, yeah. That was the plan. It just so happens that I was able to touch my inner self with greater ease at a place like this."

"Go figure."

"Yeah I know. Crazy right?"

Tamsin watched. And waited. And stared at her prey, waiting for the inevitable.

Finally, Vex cracked. "Alright, alright, dammit! I'm back to my normal self; well, normal for me that is. I don't know how you found out I got my mojo back though."

"I didn't," the valkyrie grinned.

"Ah, you little bitch," Vex moaned. But he was laughing so Tamsin knew all was still well between them.

"Don't worry, Vex. You're secret's safe with me... as long as..."

"...as long as I take part in whatever twisted scheme you've worked up. Yes, I get it. Now go ahead. Get to the good bits while you still have my attention."

"Fine, fine. Okay, here's the deal. We need to break into the Morrigan's mountain resort and take something from her vault."

"'Mountain resort'? You mean her well guarded, fortified compound which just so happens to be precariously positioned on the edge of a cliff? That 'mountain resort'? Are you completely _mental_?"

Tamsin paused as she struggled with how much to tell him. The current location for the Mirror of Sisuthros had simply made itself known in her mind on the ride over to see the Morrigan earlier, just as the Wanderer had said it would. The blonde knew she had to tell him something, and she had to do it fast. She wasn't sure how she knew it, perhaps it was another fact implanted in her thoughts by her exceedingly powerful and dangerous employer, but somehow she was increasingly aware that time was of the essence.

"_Listen!_ We don't have time for this. Bo's life...Bo's life depends on it."

She had opted for blunt honesty. Tamsin surprised herself.

"Bo? You mean succubus Bo? What could possibly be of use to her there? And why does her life depend on it? Has something happened to her and the little sprite?"

The valkyrie was relieved. Vex, it would seem, was very much like herself in that he cared about Bo and her human, whether he wanted to or not. Whether it was convenient for him to do so or not.

She had chosen correctly. This time.

Tamsin grabbed his arm and started to get up, taking him with her. "Like I said, we don't have a lot of time. I'll fill you in on what I can on our way there."

Vex stopped resisting and followed the valkyrie willing. "Oh what the hell. It's been altogether too long since I last twisted the screws in her thighness anyway. It's about time I got a little action on the side.

Lead on, fair blonde."


	7. Perilous Passage

"You sure about this, doll?" Vex asked.

"For the tenth time, I'm as sure as I can be. I don't know how this mirror will help, I only know it will."

"And how's a mirror supposed to make things right? Can it _devolve_ Bo's devolution? Reverse it? I think not. And what about Bo's pet human?"

"Look, I don't know, okay? That's why we're here," Tamsin growled as she entered the Dal and saw her target standing behind the bar, speaking with the acting Ash.

"Trick?" the valkyrie called out tentatively, and knew instantly from his expression that the barkeeper had told the Ash what happened to Bo. "_Goddammit_, Trick! You promised!"

"It's not as simple as that, Tamsin," Trick replied. "Hale and Dyson were best friends... and Kenzi..."

Hale jerked his head around and gave Trick a look that could only be interpreted as a warning, one that the barkeeper easily read and chose to honor. "Kenzi is special...to us all. As is Bo. Besides, he's sworn on his blood honor that he would use his authority as acting Ash to keep this quiet for as long as he can. Believe me, we need someone with his influence on our side, now more than ever."

The valkyrie wasn't pleased but she recognized the truth of the Blood King's words. The phone to the Dal rang and Trick went to answer it as she approached the Ash and looked him squarely in the eye. "On your blood honor?"

"On my blood honor, I swear it." Hale's tone was sincere and Tamsin wanted to believe more than anything that he could be trusted; but there was just so much at stake.

Vex stood beside the blonde and vouched for the new Ash. "Relax, love, Hale's one of the good ones."

The tight bands that had been constricting her breathing since she first saw Trick consorting with Hale and considered what she would do should the weight of the light fae come crashing down around her and Bo were finally easing as she heard Trick's end of his phone conversation in the background.

"When?" Trick sighed. "Okay, thank you for letting me know."

He hung up the phone and bowed his head. He was taking his time turning around and that could only mean bad news.

"Trick? What was that about? Is it Bo? Is she okay?" Tamsin heard herself asking, dreading the answer.

The Blood King knew he couldn't delay telling them any further. "No, it wasn't about Bo," he said as he turned to face the others. "That was the hospital. It's Kenzi. They said...they said her injuries were too severe. She...she didn't make it."

Tamsin gasped softly, having felt like someone punched her in the gut. Silence took over the room as each of them endured their own private hell. Dyson, Bo, and now Kenzi...

Hale spoke up first. "Then do something about it, _goddammit!_"

"Hale!"

"No! Do not give me that shit! You are the _goddamn_ Blood King! If you wanted it bad enough, Dyson would be back, safe and sound! Bo would be herself and Lauren, Stella AND KENZI would all be alive again. But you're too big of a pussy, aren't you?"

"Ah Hale," Vex ventured tentatively, "perhaps we should go outside and get a bit of fresh air. What do you say, mate?" The mesmer would never admit it to anyone, but Trick...one of the most powerful blood sage's he had ever come across and the same blood sage who forced the tentative peace between light and dark through his will with his blood...scared the living crap out of him.

"It's not that simple Hale! You know it isn't! Every time...EVERY DAMN TIME I spill my blood, something catastrophic happens as a result. There's always a price! The last time I did it...I helped save Bo's life from her mother. And do you know what happened? The GODDAMN Garuda happened, that's what! So don't you sit there on your perch and preach to me about doing what you think is right because you have no _GODDAMN IDEA!_"

No one had there had ever seen Trick get so angry before and each was reminded, not for the first time, that not only were his fae powers significant, so were his will and his passion. It had to be to give him the ability to forge the peace in the first place. After several long moments, Trick's temper seemed to deflate as helpless tears welled in his world weary eyes. "There's always a price," he reiterated softly; none of the fire from moments before remained, but all of the conviction was still intact. He would not use his blood this time.

Hale reached over and grasped the Blood King's forearm in silent apology, which Trick graciously accepted. "Besides, even if I could use my power without dire consequences, I don't hold sway over life, death and resurrection. That's a power greater even than my own."

_But not the Wanderer's_, Tamsin mentally added. _Speaking of which_...

"Trick, Vex and I have something that I was told could help us out somehow," she gestured behind her and her mesmer associate dragged the mirror and bracelet over to the bar.

"Yeah, because that wasn't vague at all," Hale gibed.

The barkeep huffed in surprise as he recognized the items but wasn't sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. "Where did you get this?" Trick rubbed his fingers over the texture of the bracelet, enthralled by what he thought was only legend. "Tamsin?"

"That...doesn't matter right now. Do you know what it is?"

"More importantly, do you know what it's good for, other than checking to ensure your mascara is applied evenly, that is?" Vex interjected. "What? Like I'm the only one here? Please."

"Well if it is what I think it is, it shouldn't even exist. But the bracelet...the carvings, which are clearly Sumerian...this has to be none other than the Mirror of Sisuthros."

Hale scowled at the two dark fae questioningly as Trick scurried down to his home. Moments later he returned with a book in hand. The Blood King flipped through the pages until he landed on his target victoriously. "It is! _By Aphrodite_."

"What can you tell me about it?" Tamsin persisted.

"I'll tell you, but only if you tell me where you heard about it from initially. Deal?" the barkeep bartered. The valkyrie mentally rolled her eyes, but agreed to the trade of information. It wasn't like they weren't all going to find out about the Wanderer sooner or later anyway.

"Like I said, this is the Mirror of Sisuthros. It dates back to at least the Bronze Age."

"Wow, that is old," Hale muttered.

"Hey watch it, songbird," Tamsin threatened playfully, knowing that Hale had no idea how old she really was. Neither did Vex if his expression was any indication.

"I always did have a thing for older women, you know," the mesmer whispered in her ear so only she could hear; so only the two of them knew why she threw her elbow back sharply into her good friend's stomach, eliciting a groan from the dark fae male.

Trick picked up on the gist of the exchange. "If you two are finished?" Both of the dark fae grinned unrepentantly.

"Anyway, legend has it that a powerful Sumerian oracle named Sisuthros made a deal with a god. In exchange for his loyalty and service, Sisuthros would be given obscene power. It was with this power that he created a window into other worlds, in which..." Trick paused and made eye contact with Tamsin as he finished his thought, "in which he wandered."

_Shit._ He knows.

Trick kept his gaze on Tamsin as he continued, hoping beyond hope that he had jumped to the wrong conclusion. "Sisuthros killed a wide variety random people he came across in his travels to these other worlds, fae and human alike, and absorbed their energy for himself. He was supposed to give a portion of this energy to his master but he got greedy and decided to over throw this god. But he didn't count on being found out before he had enough power to make his move and the god was greatly displeased. Legend has it that he turned Sisuthros' skin inside out and forced him to stay alive and aware for days in the desert as he was consumed by the creatures of the land."

"Well, that has to be one of the most horrible deaths I've ever heard of," Hale finally chimed in. Tamsin, Vex and Trick all remained quiet, however, each having witnessed deaths that were significantly more gruesome than Sisuthros' horrific end during their lifetimes.

"The mirror and the bracelet that controls it were presumed lost, hidden from humankind as a punishment to the earth for Sisuthros' betrayal, or so the story goes," Trick finished. "Alright, valkyrie. Your turn."

Tamsin held his gaze for several weighty moments, then finally relented. "You know, don't you? I don't know how you know, but you do."

Trick smirked. "I know what I think I know, but I think I need you to confirm it. _Now._" The authority in the Blood King's voice was unmistakeable and even the ever independent valkyrie was not immune to its charge.

"The how and why I know this is not important right now. But I will confirm the who. It is him. It is the Wanderer."

"The who?" Hale and Vex responded simultaneously.

"The Wanderer," Trick chimed in, "is the god from the story I just told you. He is as old as time itself with a power not seen on earth for many millennia. But what I don't know is what his interest is here. What his interest is with Bo."

"Oh I think you know that too, Blood King, or you wouldn't have pieced things together as quickly as you had. You already suspected the truth, didn't you?"

"Oh my God," Trick exclaimed.

"Exactly."

"Do either one of you wanna fill in the rest of us, please? It'd be nice to know what we're dealing with here, after all."

Tamsin turned toward her dark fae friend and Hale and answered the siren's question. "The Wanderer...he's Bo's father."

Silence.

Hale and Vex slowly turned and faced each other as they both voiced the only coherent thought in their minds.

"Holy..."

"..._shit_."

"Exactly," the valkyrie reiterated.

"How do you know him, Tamsin?" Trick asked again.

"No, dude. I meant what I said before. I'm not going to go into that right now. It doesn't make a difference one way or the other and we have more important things to talk about. Like this mirror. Like helping Bo."

"I don't see how it can possibly help Bo and frankly, I'm a little leery using it if the intel came from..._him_."

"Look, Trick, I understand your skepticism. I truly do. I share those feelings. But...he needs Bo to be helped. That much was clear from my dealings with him. He wouldn't steer us in the wrong direction because he wants us to rescue her, regardless of whatever his motivations or ultimate agenda is. So I say... we take it one step at a time. We use this mirror, we save Bo, and then we deal with whatever follows as it comes at us. What do you say, Blood King?"

All eyes turned to Trick as he deliberated. Though it only took a few seconds for him to reach a decision, to Tamsin it seemed like an eternity. "We'll play it your way for now, Tamsin. In truth, we really don't have any other viable options to try anyway and if this somehow helps..."

"Wait a minute," Hale interrupted. "If this mirror can connect us to other earths..."

"...then we can use it to find the one person who can stop Bo," Tamsin finished his thought, having realized at the same time as Hale how they could use best use it.

"You're not serious," Trick groused. He was willing to do just about anything to save his granddaughter but this...this was madness!

"Tell me, Trick, who better to stop Bo, than Bo herself?"

A few more moments of quiet passed as each fae considered Tamsin's strategy.

"Blimey," Vex exhaled unbelievingly.

"Do you even realize what you're suggesting? You'd go through to an alternate reality and somehow...what...kidnap their Bo and bring her back here with the hopes that she'll be able to stop our Bo? Do you have any idea how many ways this idea can go horribly, horribly wrong?"

"Oh okay. I guess we'll just go with one of those other viable options we were just talking about. Oh wait, that's right...there AREN'T ANY!"

"Hold up a sec," Hale jumped in between the Blood King and the valkyrie's verbal jousting. "Who says she gets to go? If anyone is going, it's gonna be me."

"No Hale. You can't go. You're the acting Ash," Trick replied.

"Exactly! How better to show I care for my subjects than to risk my life for them?"

"Sorry, Hale, I'm with the Trickster on this one. You would be the worst possible choice," the valkyrie injected.

"I could go, you know," Vex added. "I could find the succubus, bring her back here...have a little fun along the way of course..." the mesmer trailed off with a smirk.

"Okay, the second worst possible choice," Trick mumbled.

"Look guys, this isn't up for debate! I'm the only one here who can do this!" Tamsin was starting to lose her patience.

"If Dyson were here..."

"But he's not here, is he, Trick? He's gone, and so is Bo. We have no heroes this time around...the Wanderer made sure of that!"

"And yet, you trust that the information he gave you is sound? What if he just wants you out of the way too? Have you even considered that?"

Tamsin exhaled sharply. "It's a chance we'll have to take. Besides, we have no other choice, remember?"

Trick bowed his head, clearly not pleased with this plan but not sure what he could say to stop the valkyrie or if he should even try.

"We need a hero," Tamsin looked each of the light fae in the eyes as she pled her case. "Trick? Hale? If we stand any chance at all at saving Bo...at rescuing Dyson, _we need a hero_. And I'm just the one to go get her."

An unnatural stillness took over the Dal.

"Guys?" the valkyrie's brow furrowed. "What, did I stun you all into silence or something?"

But as she observed the three other men, she realized something more substantial was going on. A toothpick Vex had been fiddling with had fallen from his fingers and was floating, suspended in mid air. Time itself was frozen and somehow, she was the only one capable of movement.

The energy in the bar crackled, causing the light hairs on the blonde's arms to stand straight up, and a faint lavender colored glow tinted the room.

"What do you think you're doing, valkyrie?"

Tamsin swung around to face the source of the voice she knew all too well. The voice that haunted her waking nightmares.

The Wanderer.

"I'm doing what you want. I'm using the mirror to save Bo."

The Wanderer lunged toward her threateningly. "Don't play games with me, child! I know you intend to betray me, just as you intended to defy me before. Even now, I can hear your thoughts as you plot and scheme. You fool, as if I would allow you to stop that which has been ordained for over a millennia."

The Wanderer grabbed her by the throat. "It would seem you have finally outlived your usefulness to me," he snarled as he began to squeeze.

Tamsin closed her eyes and felt panic begin to overcome her senses, an uncommon emotional state for a valkyrie of her calibre and experience. Dispassionately, she realized struggling against his hold was pointless. If he wanted her dead, there was nothing she could do to stop him and she knew it. But just as the pressure around her throat seemed to be unbearable, it began to ease. The valkyrie opened her eyes and noticed the Wanderer's amulet was glowing brightly, as were his eyes. Just like Bo's...except amethyst, not blue like hers. His hand moved upward and he grasped her chin, transfixing her gaze with his, mesmerizing her.

An unnatural voice echoed from his throat as if it was coming from a source other than the Wanderer himself.

**"_You will bring Isabeau to me_."**

"N...no," Tamsin attempted to resist, to his great amusement. He stilled her motion with a thought and the valkyrie was paralyzed.

**"_Silly child. It has been foretold._"** His eyes opened wide, as if he were learning new truths he hadn't considered. **"_It's you_,"** he marveled. **"_Your role in my fate is significant, valkyrie. We are...intertwined._"**

The man laughed and Tamsin cringed at the sound. He spoke again, his voice having returned to normal. "I had always known there'd be another involved in my fate, but I had always assumed it would be the wolf, not some pathetic, broken down valkyrie such as yourself." The Wanderer shook his head. "Oh my dear Tamsin, If only we had done this sooner, it would have saved me a great deal of trouble."

His grip tightened on her chin again as he closed his eyes and continued to speak the prophecy, the unnatural voice back in full force. **"_Only you will have the power to save my daughter from herself. Your true death awaits you, valkyrie; and from your sacrifice, I will have what I desire most. From you, my daughter and I will become as one and rule over the earth_."** He opened his eyes, and his voice returned to normal. "You're the catalyst, Tamsin, the key," he grinned maliciously and Tamsin felt a sick sense of foreboding.

The Wanderer reached for the bracelet and clipped it onto Tamsin's wrist, and with a whispered incantation Tamsin didn't understand, the stone in the bracelet began to glow bright blue. Like Bo's eyes. "I have enchanted the bracelet. It will ensure you go to a world where my Isabeau is strong enough to fulfill her destiny."

The man reached up and touched her temple and the paralyzed blonde noticed that the the amethyst amulet and his eyes seemed to glow even brighter. "The mirror is only the window. The power resides in the bracelet. If you have the bracelet, you have the mirror. Hear me now and obey: You will not remove the bracelet."

His eyes bore deeply into the green ones of the terrified valkyrie still in his grasp. "It would seem your dedication to my daughter will serve me well. Eventually. But for now, I'm afraid those kinds of sentiments will only get in the way. And so I gift you with that which you have bestowed upon so many of your adversaries."

Tamsin screamed as a surge of energy tore through her mind, disintegrating pathways, scorching thoughts, memories and emotions. When she opened her eyes once more, her expression was as blank as her mind was.

"You will know what you need to know, but only as I need you to know it. And now, fair journey, sweet girl," the Wanderer mocked as he shoved her motionless form backwards into the mirror, now portal, and the blonde disappeared from sight. "Bring my little girl back to me, valkyrie. My destiny is at hand."

His amulet flickered. "I have been in this realm too long," the powerful god growled as he vanished.

Time in the Dal resumed, with the three remaining fae each knowing and feeling something major had just happened beyond their awareness. The residual energy surrounding them too potent to be ignored.

"What...in the _bloody hell_ was that?" Vex shook his head forcefully.

"Better question. Where's Tamsin?" Hale added as he and the others looked around the room.

"Tamsin isn't the only thing missing," Trick chimed in.

The three fae looked at where the bracelet used to be and were stunned, wondering what had happened to their blonde associate, how had she managed to get away so quickly; what was that energy and how did it factor into things?

More importantly, what were they supposed to do now?

Vex huffed impatiently.

"I knew I shoulda stayed at the _Screw_."

* * *

**A/N:**

**KuraiNova: Thank you for the feedback! I love writing Vex btw. :) As you can see above, it gets angsty before it gets better before it gets angsty later on...and then, we'll see, right? ;)**


	8. Stranger in a Strange World

"Alright, so hear me out, Bo-Bo. I'm thinkin' stack of waffles. I'm thinkin' melted butter. I'm thinkin' ocean of syrup. Do ya feel me, sista?"

Bo grinned into the cell phone perched against her chin. She and her human sister were in opposite sides of the same mini-mall, each doing a little shopping for various necessities; but apparently Kenzi had come across the new waffle shop that opened a few days ago and was seriously jonesing for a mid-day breakfast feast.

"We just ate breakfast a couple hours ago, Kenz," Bo teased.

"A couple of very, VERY long hours ago, you mean. _Focus_, succubus! I"m talking about waffles here!"

"Well, be it far from me to stand between you and your goals," Bo smirked. "Go forth and eat, young human."

"Yes!" Kenzi exclaimed. "Wait, you mean you're not going with me? You're not hungry yet?"

Just then a very attractive, very tall, very delicious looking young man walked past the succubus. He looked as if he were a male model who walked right off the pages of a fashion magazine. Or maybe a he was a greek god in human form. She imagined dipping his various body parts in tzatziki sauce.

"Well, now that you mention it, I am a bit hungry. Just not for food," Bo confessed.

"Uh oh, I know that tone of voice. Sounds to me like we need to make a pit stop at chez cop shop so you can get a little succu-wolf lovin', am I right or am I right?"

Bo laughed. "Relax, Kenzi. I'm fine for now. Besides, Dyson is still busy breaking in his new partner. Dark fae, if you can believe it."

"Yeah I heard. What's up widdat? I can't even begin to imagine..." the goth's voice trailed off.

"Kenzi? You still there?"

"Yeah I'm here, Bo, but you better get your succubutt over here. And _fast!_"

"What's going on over there?" the fae's brow furrowed in concern as she picked up her pace.

"I don't know exactly, but someone's being chased by two freakishly large men and it looks like they're about to get caught!" the human cut off the connection and Bo just knew her friend was rushing headlong into whatever was going on to try to help.

"Kenzi? What is it? Kenzi! _Dammit_," Bo clicked the off button and took off running to where she knew Kenzi had last been seen.

The succubus made it to the front of the waffle shop in record time and she searched frantically for any sign of her friend or the problem she had warned her about until she finally spotted Kenzi a good block and a half away. Bo sighed. "I guess I'll get to fit that extended exercise regime into my busy schedule after all," Bo groused to herself as she ran after Kenzi and whatever Kenzi was chasing.

She finally caught up to her younger friend as she was crouching down behind some boxes. Bo was out of breath and irritated. "Have we not discussed the whole 'you running off and leaving me behind without knowing where you're going' thing before?"

"Yeah, yeah...my bad so sad, but _look!_" Kenzi urged and Bo watched a scene unfold where two very large men had trapped in the dark end of an alley a cowering young woman who, by the look of her bedraggled appearance, had been having a very unfortunate couple of weeks. At least.

Time to intervene.

Bo jumped out from hiding and headed over to confront the two would-be bullies.

"You know, it's not nice to keep after a lady once she turns you down, fellas," the succubus announced her presence.

Bully number one turned to face her and Bo recognized him as Aggus, a dark fae bouncer that used to work at one of Vex's clubs.

"This is none of your concern. Get out of here before things get nasty for you," Aggus warned.

"Funny, that's what I was going to say to the both of you," Bo shot back as she pulled her dagger and brandished it threateningly. She knew Aggus was fae and was pretty sure his buddy was too; but since she didn't know whether the female they were chasing was human or fae, the succubus decided she'd have to take these two goons down old school.

"She tried to steal the car of the Morrigan. She would have gotten away with it had Jus not stopped her," Aggus gestured toward his buddy.

"Okay fine then. Jus stopped her. You both scared her." More like terrified, if her expression was anything to go by. "She learned her lesson. How about we let bygones be bygones just this once, guys?"

"You know that isn't how things work. Now BACK OFF, or we'll take you in too," Jus growled.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Bo sneered as she lunged in for the attack, which Aggus barely avoided. Another swipe, another dodge, and Bo was on the ground rolling out of the way of a very large foot.

Flipping herself back upright, Bo was ready for the next round when she heard Kenzi warning her, "BO! _LOOK OUT!_"

Bo turned a fraction of a second too late and Jus' meaty fist made solid content with her cheek, sending her flying into the alley wall behind her.

Her ears rang and her cheek throbbed and burned from what Bo knew was a large scrape down her face. Turning back to her adversaries, she couldn't help herself. "The face? Really?"

Jus smirked.

"Oh, it's _ON_, gigantor," Bo pressed forward again and feinted to the right, causing Jus' fist of doom to come crashing into Aggus's gut, forcing the dark fae bouncer to groan painfully.

She smiled predatorily as she dodged Aggus' return attack but missed the fact that Jus' had already adjusted to her strategy. He was waiting for her as she spun out of Aggus' reach and right into his arms.

Bo struggled in his grip. "Well, you're persistent. And faster than I thought, I'll give you that."

"Oh my God, Bo," Kenzi whispered to herself, searching around for something, ANYTHING to help the succubus out of this predicament.

"And you are a trouble maker. Always sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong," Aggus shot back. "You've made a lot of enemies, succubus. The Morrigan is only one of many who want to see you stuffed and mounted on her wall."

"Kinky," Bo grunted, still trying to wiggle her way free. "Though I can't say I'm too surprised she likes it so rough."

Aggus struck her in the stomach with his fist; and had she not been secured tightly in Jus' grasp, she would have slipped bonelessly and painfully to the ground.

"Stop," a soft voice cried from the back end of the alley, but nobody heard it over the fight.

"You're about to see how rough she likes it, bitch," Aggus spat, as he punched on her already wounded cheek. Blinding pain shot through her face and radiated throughout her body. As the world around her started to blur and fade, Bo realized belatedly that perhaps this confrontation hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"_STOP!_" the voice repeated, and this time all heads turned to face the broken down waif at the end of the alley, no longer cowering. And as they watched, the figure stood proud and strong as her face changed, revealing something terrifying. It looked like the face of death itself. It was horrifying. It was mesmerizing. None of those assembled were able to look away.

"You don't want to do this, Jus," the voice urged. "Aggus is your true enemy. You want to kill him, don't you?"

Before either Bo or Kenzi knew what was happening, Jus had forcefully thrown the succubus away from him. She was still conscious when she landed several body lengths away from the two dark fae thugs, and she watched in shocked disbelief as, with no hesitation, Jus pulled a gun on his friend and shot him in the head before he had a chance to react.

Aggus's lifeless form sank to the ground and the voice continued its urging. "You're a disappointment, Jus. Your life has no meaning. You should end it. NOW."

Jus turned toward the skeletal face of his tormentor and, without missing a beat, put the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger.

Before his body had hit the ground, the girl's face reverted back to a normal human form and Kenzi came bursting from her cover to rush to her best friend's aid.

"Holy _shit!_ That was...I don't know what that was but it was _FAE_-ING AWESOME! Did you see that?"

"See, yes. Still working on believing," Bo grunted as the human helped her to her feet and over to the woman she "rescued." Kenzi leaned her against the side of a building so she could get a closer look at this mysterious woman.

"You mind telling me who you are and what the hell that was all about?" the succubus asked the woman without any preamble.

"What? _Me? _I...I don't know!"

"You don't know what? Who you are or what you did?" Bo pressed.

"_Neither!_ Please...I don't...I just...I..." the woman swooned and Kenzi barely had a chance to catch her as her battle to stay conscious ended in defeat.


	9. A Doctor's Prerogative

"All I'm sayin is, you were already hungry before Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumber beat the ever succu-lovin' crap out of you, Bo." The succubus rolled her eyes as they both struggled to carry the woman from the alley down the hallway. "Shouldn't we have headed over to wolf central first before coming...here?"

Bo sighed. They had been having the same argument since they left the alley and two dead dark fae behind. "For the last time, Kenzi, I'm okay for the time being but I don't know if our friend here is. We need to get her checked out and find out who, and what, she is."

Kenzi eye her skeptically and Bo finally relented.

"And then, fine. Okay. I'll take care of that other part. Satisfied?"

Kenzi smirked. "I'm not. But you sure will be." Bo groaned at the double entendre as they reached their destination. "Just let me know how long you need the Kenz to be somewhere else, _mmkay?_"

"Sure Kenzi. I'll hang a sock on the door just for you," Bo growled as she knocked on the door.

"Mucho appreciated. That is proper roomie sexu-etiquette, after all."

The door had opened without either of them noticing.

"You look like hell, Bo," a gentle, feminine voice teased. "Do I want to know what happened?"

"Wow. Tactful much?" Kenzi muttered under her breath.

Bo shot a chiding look to her friend. "You know how the story goes. Girl meets boys. Girl follows boys into a dark alley. Incredibly painful argument ensues. Same ol', same ol'," the succubus smirked. "But actually, I'm not here for me. I'm here for...her," she gestured to the woman Kenzi had balanced against the other side of the door frame.

Lauren's brow furrowed, "Who do we have here?" she asked as she helped Kenzi and Bo get the unconscious patient up on a table.

"We're not entirely sure. Two dark fae thugs were chasing her," Bo confessed.

"Are you certain she's fae?" the doctor inquired as she took out her stethoscope and began a tertiary examination.

"Not for nothin' but I kinda miss the old digs," Kenzi answered with a non sequitur. "I know Lachlan did some bigtime re-orging after the whole suicide bomb incident but it seems weird that you do your doctor-y medical stuff from your own home."

Bo ignored Kenzi's editorializing. "No doubt about it. She kind of...well, I don't quite know how to explain it."

"Dude, she turned into _freakin' _Skeletor, that's what," Kenzi interjected. "Two huge dark fae goons were beating up on Bo and blondie here morphed into the face of death and willed them into killing each other. Well, actually, she somehow got goon number one to kill goon number two, and then made goon number one kill himself, but whatever."

Lauren looked at Bo questioningly.

"Don't look at me, I got lost at goon number two, and I was there."

"So you're saying her face changed and resembled something like a skeleton and she used a certain power of persuasion to will the two dark fae to kill themselves, right?" Lauren asked as she tried to get a full grasp of what she was dealing with.

"Whoa, Bo, speaking of her face, check it out now!" Kenzi interrupted the doctor's train of thought.

All eyes turned and were surprised that many of the cuts and abrasions on the patient's face had faded.

"Wow, fast healer," Bo commented.

"Actually, that helps cement my theory about what we're dealing with here; although I'm not entirely sure how it's possible," Lauren wondered aloud. She continued looking over her patient as she ordered her thoughts.

"Um...care to share with the rest of us, or are we just supposed to start guessing?" Kenzi sniped.

Lauren mentally rolled her eyes. Kenzi had never liked her. She had even wondered at one point if that somehow had helped play a roll in her breaking up with Bo several weeks back, even though she knew her problems with the succubus ran much deeper.

Things would be so much easier for her if she could just stop loving her. Of course, the only way that would happen was if Bo would stop being Bo. So, never, basically.

"Hello? Earth to nerdette?"

"Kenzi," Bo scolded before turning back to the doctor. "So? What is she?"

"Well, my best guess based on what you told me is that our little friend here is a valkyrie. Which is odd to say the least, because to the best of my knowledge, valkyries haven't walked the earth for at least a millennia." Bo and Kenzi followed the doctor to her nearby console. "Tell me, what happened after she used her powers?"

"She dropped like a ton of bricks," the goth reported, indelicately. "What? She totally did."

"Does that mean something?" Bo inquired, having recognized that this fact seemed relevant to the doctor in some way.

Lauren returned to the bedside of her patient. The little research and data she had on valkyries proved to be mostly oral tradition, stories passed down from generation to generation. But one consistent fact threaded through all the tales.

The doctor reached for her patient's head and lightly combed through her hair, unsurprised when a small chunk came out almost effortlessly.

"Whoa. Are valkyries supposed to shed like that? Because if so, we're like totally going to need some kind of fuzz picker upper," the little human added unhelpfully.

Lauren was torn. Should she tell them what she knew? That her patient's passing out and losing her hair was a good indication that this fae was at the end of her life cycle? She looked over at Bo.

No. Telling her former lover wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't help anything. And as her doctor, she owed it to her patient to take care of her and keep her secret unless and until it became absolutely necessary to disclose that information.

"Listen," she turned back to the succubus. "You could try talking to Trick about this but she's almost certainly not light fae. You might have better luck with some of your dark fae contacts."

Bo nodded, and chose to ignore the fact that Lauren didn't divulge any possibly private details about her patient. It was that attention and care that made her former lover so lovable to her. She sighed, internally. If only she weren't human.

The succubus pulled out her phone and took a quick photo of the patient in case she found someone who could provide better insight into who this woman was. "Thank you, Lauren, and hey...look at us. Being all civil and professional," she grinned and Lauren's heart melted just a little bit more.

"You can always count on me, Bo. I'll always be here to back you up," the doctor smiled wistfully.

Before Bo could respond or Kenzi could fake hurl without either woman witnessing, the three heard a scream from the patient. Their valkyrie had awoken and she was clearly distressed. Lauren rushed over and tried to assist the woman, who was holding her head protectively. The pain was almost unbearable and the valkyrie was frantic, not knowing what was going on or what was causing her such agony.

The doctor injected her patient a few different times and slowly, finally, the pain subsided. The blonde woman looked up through bleary eyes to see three women standing around her bed before blissfully succumbing to the pain reliever the doctor provided her.

"She is very strong," Lauren mused. "I had to amp the dose several times before it was even partially effective."

"Whoever she is, she needs our help," Bo announced with conviction before turning to Kenzi. "Let's go have a chat with my grandfather and see if we can't learn anything more about our new friend here."

Both women were almost to the door when the succubus turned around to face the doctor. "Thank you Lauren. For everything."

The doctor nodded and smiled softly, knowing Bo was thanking her for more than just caring for her new charge.

The succubus pursed her lips and waved and walked away, leaving the human doctor standing in the door way, missing what was... and what would never be. 


	10. Strange Bedfellows

"A valkyrie? Are you certain?" the bartender pressed, clearly amazed at the idea of such a thing.

"Lauren seemed to be sure, although she was just as surprised as you are now," the succubus replied.

"With good reason," Trick countered. "Valkyries are a cautionary tale among the fae...what happens when one disobeys one's masters, especially when those masters are significantly more powerful than oneself."

"That's a lot of ones, Trickster," Kenzi teased. "How 'bout you tell us the tale CliffsNotes style so the attention-deficient among us, namely moi, can keep up?"

Trick tried to suppress his amusement he felt due to this young human who his granddaughter had brought into his life. "Sure Kenzi. I wouldn't want to bore you with too much detail."

"That's very thoughtful of you T-man. Yet another thing I lurve about you. By the way, did I mention I think your new vest is to die for? That shade of leather really brings out the color of your eyes."

Trick's brow furrowed. Usually compliments like that were accompanied by a request of some kind. He didn't have to ask her what she wanted; his expression said it all and Kenzi didn't insult his intelligence by denying.

"One glass from the top shelf?" the young human requested, coquettishly.

"One," Trick huffed, maintaining an air of irascibility with great effort. He'd never admit how endearing he found Bo's human friend to be. Not willingly, at any rate.

Bo eyed her friend disbelievingly. "What? I had to give up waffles. I deserve a consolation prize."

"So, that story?" Bo elbowed Kenzi, and both shared a conspiratorial smile.

"Well, there's not a whole lot to tell," Trick began as he poured both Kenzi and Bo drinks. "There was a valkyrie named Brynhild who was favored by her god and master, Odin. He fell in love with her but she was in love with another. He learned of her betrayal of the heart and ordered her death."

"Jealousy and godhood. Never a good combo," Kenzi quipped.

"But she was very popular among her sisters," Trick continued. "Not biological. More like an order. A camaraderie."

"I feel ya, Trickster. Power to the sisterhood!" the human held her fist to her chest in solidarity. Both Bo and Trick smiled at her antics.

"Let me see if I can figure out what happened next," Bo interjected. "The valkyries protected their own, defied their god and incurred his wrath en masse. Am I close?"

"Right on target, actually. Most valkyries were hunted to extinction centuries ago. There was an odd tale every decade or so of a valkyrie being spotted but most reports of that nature were regarded with scorn and disbelief."

"Kind of like those 'I saw Elvis pumping gas at the Mini Mart' stories," Kenzi took another swig from her drink.

"Something like that," Trick grinned.

"So that makes our valkyrie somewhat of a mystery," Bo concluded.

"That would be an understatement," the Blood King agreed. "One thing though. I can almost guarantee she's not light. I know of no living light fae valkyrie and believe me, that kind of thing would stand out in my memory."

"Lauren said the same thing. She suggested I should speak to one of my dark fae friends."

"Well," Trick gestured with his head to the two figures entering the Dal, "here's your chance."

Bo turned to face the door way and worked hard to suppress the laughter bubbling her chest, as she saw her on-again, off-again lover and friend sporting the most angst-ridden, long suffering and aggrieved expression she thought she had ever seen in her life and walking several impatient paces ahead of his new dark fae partner.

Dyson's visage softened visibly when his eyes met Bo's and then he frowned, and she just knew he was focusing on the variety of cuts and bruises that were still very visible on her face. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her behind a nearby beam and gently cradled her face in his hands. Then, with infinite care, his lips met hers.

Bo smiled to herself. She knew his game; but if he wanted to force a feed, he was going to have to work a heck of a lot harder than that.

The wolf did not disappoint. It was as though he had read her mind and knew she wanted him to make it worth her while. Dyson tilted his head a little and applied more pressure with his lips, asking for and receiving permission to take her mouth with greater force. Bo groaned as his tongue danced with hers, first teasingly and then with more authority, and she knew she was not going to be able to hold out for long.

Sure enough, Dyson upped his game and pulled his prey closer, pressing his body firmly against hers as he urged her tongue into his mouth and sucked on it hungrily. Bo gave in to his prompting and grasped his head as she succumbed to her need to feed on his delicious wolf chi. Long moments passed as she fed and interspersed soft, loving kisses to reward him for his giving her his precious energy; until finally she pulled away from him, her eyes quickly morphing back to its natural warm brown state.

"Sneaky. Very sneaky, wolf," Bo chided teasingly.

Dyson grinned, his thumb tracing where her face had been deeply marred only moments before. "What? Can't a guy kiss a beautiful woman without getting the third degree? And if she just so happens to heal as a result of that kiss, all the better."

Bo caressed his cheek one last time as they pulled away from the beam and headed toward the others, including Dyson's new partner. "So, how's it going with the new guy? Got him fully house trained yet?"

Dyson groaned. "Hale may be like a brother to me, but I may have to kill him for this."

Bo swallowed a giggle as she watched Kenzi and Dyson's new partner discuss and even pantomime effective mascara application techniques.

"I have to admit, I was a little more than surprised when I heard about Vex's new job," Bo smirked as she tilted her head and observed. Vex looked shockingly pedestrian. His vest and pants were still black leather, but his hair was shorter and significantly tamer than before and he wasn't wearing any cosmetics that she could tell. "I am amazed he toned his dress code down enough to actually fit in at a human police station."

"Don't be fooled," Dyson groused.

Bo eyed him questioningly and Dyson leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. "He has nipple rings shaped like handcuffs that are linked by a single, long chain that connects with, well, other parts of his anatomy," Dyson finished, grimacing.

The succubus choked down a laugh with great effort. "Do I even wanna know how you know this?"

"No." The subject was closed with absolute finality.

Dyson's woe-be-gone countenance and the way he relayed his little story were too much for her and the laughter she had been trying to hold back finally broke free. The wolf growled at her playfully causing Bo to laugh even harder until finally it tapered down to giggles, then finally a random chuckle.

"Finished yet?" Dyson affected an adorably put upon expression and Bo finally relented.

"Sorry about that," she grinned unrepentantly.

"No your not," he retorted, still smiling.

With one last chuckle, Bo put the moment behind her. "So, do you think I could have a word with your new partner? I need to ask him something."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"Not this time, wolf man. It's a dark fae thing. Think he'd be willing to chat with me?"

"Sure, if you can get him away from Kenzi," the wolf replied.

"No kidding," the succubus grumbled.

Except it wasn't difficult to get him alone after all. Once Kenzi saw that Bo was healed, to which she wiggled her eyebrows at her bestie, she realized Bo needed to speak to the mesmer and made herself scarce.

The succubus had to prepare herself mentally for this conversation. Vex always had a special talent for irritating her and pushing her buttons in general. But this time would be different. This time she would get the information she'd need and get out and not give in to the near overwhelming urge to throttle the mesmer.

"Bo, you're lookin'...well, a damn sight better than you did a few minutes ago," Vex teased.

The dark haired woman rolled her eyes, but stayed focused on her objective. "I need some intel, Vex."

"Straight to business, is it? Alright, fine by me. That kind of attitude goes well with my new dressed for success look, don't it, love?"

Bo refused to be distracted. "I need to know about valkyries. Specifically, dark fae valkyries. Do you know of any?"

Vex whistled. "Well you don't ask for much, do you? No, I don't know of any valkyries, dark fae or other wise. And good luck to you finding anyone who does. I haven't seen hide nor hair of a valkyrie in decades."

"Decades? Not centuries?"

The mesmer tsked, mildly offended. "Time might flow differently for the fae, Bo, but I'm pretty sure I know the difference between 10s and 100s."

"Alright. Sorry," she apologized abruptly. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Not much, really. Apparently word had gotten out that a valkyrie had been spotted near where I was at the time and I had been tasked by the Morrigan to...well, take care of her."

"You mean kill her," Bo corrected sternly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," the mesmer quipped, but gave up when he realized Bo would not take the bait. "I was preparing to head off and find the little bitch...I mean, valkyrie, when I heard back from the Morrigan that she had decided to take care of the problem on her own and that my services weren't necessary after all. That's all I know."

"The Morrigan. Yeah, this'll be fun," the succubus griped.

Vex grinned. "Aw, cheer up, Bo. It could be worse, you know, though I'm not quite sure _how_ at this exact moment."

Bo rolled her eyes again and turned her attention to her human friend.

"Stay here, Kenz, and have a few more drinks. I'm off to see the wicked bitch of the west."


	11. Unfinished Business

**A/N: You all are probably wondering where our valkyrie is. Don't worry...she returns in the next chapter, which btw is a LONG one.**

**And has some valkubus-y moments.**

**Whoops...I didn't say too much, did I? ;)**

* * *

"'Come into my parlor,' said the spider to the fly," the Morrigan growled as the succubus entered her office.

"Aw, Evony. You're not still holding a grudge, are you?" Bo crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You found the keys. Eventually. And you even somehow got your hands on my old phone so there's no visible proof I can use to torment you with, now is there?"

"And now here you are in my office without anyone around to protect you, you poor, poor dear."

Bo smiled. Watching the dark fae leader get her knickers in a twist over her was especially rewarding, though she'd never admit such a thing aloud.

"Look, Evony. We can do this song and dance if you want where you make threats against me and I laugh in your face, but I'm pressed for time and I actually do have a serious proposition for you if you're interested."

The Morrigan's interest was piqued but she was wary given her last interlude with the succubus. "This doesn't involve handcuffs and a black lace nightie, does it?"

Bo stifled a grin. It wouldn't do to openly mock the women. "No. No nighties. Just a question...and an offer."

Evony sat back in her chair. "I'm listening."

The succubus reached in her jacket pocket and pulled out her cell phone, which she handed over to the Morrigan, who eyed the device suspiciously. "It's a new phone and I didn't have any other copies. I promise," Bo grinned.

The Morrigan swiped the phone from her hand and looked and was visibly flummoxed by what she saw. Bo watched carefully, hoping to see if she could catch Evony express any unguarded emotions before her walls went up and was surprised that she ended up with a veritable treasure trove of expressions from the dark fae's face. "So, what's your offer?" Evony countered emotionlessly as she laid the phone back on her desk. But it was too late for that and both of the women knew it.

Bo reached for the phone and tucked it back into her pocket. "I need information on who that woman is and what happened to her and I know you have all the details I'm interested in."

To her credit, Evony didn't dispute Bo's claim. "And in exchange for such information?"

Bo smiled. She had her. "A future favor of your choosing. A debt that I will owe you with the caveat that it not include any scenario where I could end up harming or killing someone directly or indirectly by my actions, or betraying the trust of anyone I care about."

"A future favor. I'm already owed one by your little pet, you know."

"Yes, I know. And now you will have two, along with my word that I'll do whatever you want, no questions asked, as long as you agree to the terms I just laid out." The succubus took a deep breath as she dove in. "I swear, on my blood honor."

Evony stalled for time but it was already apparent she was interested in Bo's offer. A promise from the succubitch? A debt held over her head like this was worth allowing her to live just to see what kind of trouble she could stir up for her. "Alright. We have an agreement. I swear, on my blood honor."

Bo sat down and made herself comfortable and waited for the Morrigan to speak.

"It was about thirty years or so ago. I received notification that a valkyrie had been located and was paid, very handsomely I might add, to make this valkyrie disappear."

"Why?" Bo interjected.

"Why what?"

"Why bother with this woman? This valkyrie? Who hired you to eliminate her?"

"That is not part of the deal, succubus. It doesn't matter who paid for the hit. As for why, did you not hear me before? I was paid a _shit ton_ of money to do it. That's reason enough for me."

Bo huffed in disapproval but didn't say anything else. "Continue."

"I considered subcontracting the job out to another but I changed my mind at the last minute. This was too important to be left in the hands of others. She was, after all, the last valkyrie on earth. So I went for her. She had apparently been on the run and in hiding for centuries. But you know, the odd thing was she didn't seem too surprised to see me. It was almost like she expected it."

A few moments of silence passed as Evony relived her experience.

"And then what happened?" Bo prodded.

"And then, I killed her. It wasn't personal succubus, it was business; so don't look at me with those disapproving eyes of yours."

Bo struggled with her emotions and with the cold, dispassionate way the Morrigan relayed how she took the life of an innocent fae, the last of her kind, just because she was paid to do so.

"What else can you tell me about her?"

"Not a whole lot. It wasn't like we spent any kind of time together or anything. I knew her for all of 30 seconds before she met her true death."

"Her _true death?_" the succubus repeated.

"God you really are a baby fae, aren't you? Valkyries live multiple lifetimes and at the end of each, they die and are reborn. They repeat the process over and over until eventually they meet their true death and are no longer able to walk the earth."

"And how do you know it was her final death when you killed her? Her true death?"

The Morrigan smiled and Bo felt a shiver of fear travel up her spine. It wasn't a pleasant expression. "Let's just say a girl has a way of knowing those kinds of things and leave it at that."

Bo decided to let it go. Perhaps there were some things she didn't really need to know after all. She stood and prepared herself to leave Evony's office and thought about the long, hot bath she'd have to take to wash the stench of this experience off of her.

"So do I get to ask what you're doing with a dead woman's face on your phone?" the Morrigan's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Bo smiled humorlessly. "Sorry, Evony, no can do. I'll stand by and wait for your call."

"I'll be counting the seconds until we meet again, succubus," the Morrigan cajoled, but Bo was too heavy hearted to take the bait.

An urgent thought crossed her mind. "Oh, wait. One more thing before I leave. What was her name?"

"That one's easy. I never forget a name, especially if it belongs to someone who's brain I melted."

Bo grit her teeth and waited, knowing the Morrigan enjoyed drawing things out.

Evony grinned victoriously, knowing she had gotten under the succubitch's skin once more. "The name of this valkyrie...was Tamsin."

A few minutes later, Bo was in the elevator and on her way out of the building. It occurred to her belatedly that she may have just inadvertently put the valkyrie's life in danger.

Back in the Morrigan's office, an impromptu meeting continued. "You have all the details you need. I don't care what you have to do or who you have to kill. I want this woman dead before the end of the day," Evony ordered.

The five men in the room smiled viciously, while streams of red trailed down their faces from their recently doused caps.


	12. Rude Awakenings

**A/N: Enter the Valkubus! ;)**

* * *

The first thing the blonde noticed was that the bed was soft and warm beneath her.

The next thing was that the pain she'd been feeling for weeks now had subsided, and with it came the knowledge that she had been living in a nightmare.

The woman groaned, instinctively recognizing that a core piece of her being was still missing but at least she was warm and dry, a nice change from the previous weeks.

Even now, she had no idea who she was or how she got wherever she was; but unlike before, she seemed to be able to handle her situation with much more equanimity. It was almost as if the intermittent pain that had been plaguing her either caused or signaled her inability to control her fear and her doubt.

Tentatively, she cracked her eyes open and almost fell out of the bed when she saw a young woman sitting right next to her, within arms reach.

"Relax, chica. I'm not gonna hurt you," the short, dark haired lady said. "I just wanted to see if you were okay and offer you some fried chicken." She held up a drumstick in silent appeal.

The blonde's stomach growled as if on cue.

"This isn't a medical facility," the blonde woman mumbled.

Kenzi was surprised. The woman seemed a lot calmer than before and significantly more coherent. She would have laid odds if asked that her pseudo-patient would wake and be all freaked out-ish like she had been the last couple of times she had briefly regained consciousness. But this person...she was able to verbalize complete sentences without screaming. A major improvement.

"Gold star for the no-name blonde," the young human quipped as the woman pushed herself up a little on the bed. "You win a drumstick."

The woman eyed her suspiciously but then figured there was no harm in eating something if the short girl was as well. "Thank you, whoever the hell you are."

"My pleasure, whoever the hell you are."

The blonde woman took a bite of her food and and frowned as she took a good look at her decrepit surroundings. Was she in a shack?

"To answer the question you're not asking, I broke you out of that hell hole and brought you to my place so you could be more comfortable."

"And you're more comfortable...without walls?" the blonde inquired.

"Hey now. Don't dis the digs unless you're wantin' a one-way trip back to beneath the doc's microscope," Kenzi growled.

"No. I think I prefer this, thanks, although..." the blonde trailed off.

"Although what?"

"Well, no offense half pint, but I don't see how you got me out of that place all by yourself," the woman smirked.

"I will have you know, missie, that I have many skills," Kenzi began, but was interrupted as a tall, good looking man showed up at the entrance to the bedroom carrying a shopping bag.

"And strong friends," Kenzi grinned. "Dyson? Meet amnesiac blonde. Amnesiac blonde? Meet Dyson."

"Pleasure," the wolf growled.

"I'm sure," the blonde replied.

"Did you get it?" Kenzi prompted and Dyson walked over and handed the bag he was holding to the young girl. "Don't blame me if your purse doesn't match your shoes," the wolf man joked, surprising the young human.

"Did you just make a funny? Momma's so proud!" she exclaimed, as she reached up and pulled her friend in a hug. "Don't worry, D-man, you'll never have my keen fashion sense, but I'm sure you did just fine."

Kenzi reached in the bag and pulled out casual wear consisting of four sports bras, teal, red and green and lavender, three light tank tops and two pairs tight, dark skinny jeans.

"What's all this?" the former patient puzzled as she held each item up to examine.

"No offense blondie, but the derelict pauper look went out of fashion years ago. I knew you were taller than Bo, and you're def taller than I am..."

"Most everyone is, I imagine."

Kenzi glared at her but otherwise chose to ignore the snark. "I had to guess at your size but it'll be a damn sight better than what you're stuck with now."

The blonde bowed her head, oddly touched by this girl's thoughtfulness. "Thanks," she mumbled. "I'll, uh, just..." She gestured toward the door, gathered her wares and headed over to somewhere less visible so she could change.

Dyson waited until the woman was out of earshot before he questioned the goth. "Sure about this?"

Kenzi sighed, having anticipated a little push back from the wolf man. "Look, I know what you know, D-man. Bo called me and told me she thought it'd be a good idea to get our little valkyrie somewhere we can keep an eye on her, so here we are."

"I don't think this place is safe."

The human scoffed. "And where is this mythical, magical safe place where no one can find us? Wonderland? Please. At least here we've got home field advantage."

As the blonde woman re-entered the room, her eyes fell on the tall man and was struck by a mental image of this man that seemed so real, it had to be a memory. In this flashback, she was standing next to him, in a different time and place. _"I know she didn't do it,"_ the man pled.

_"Because when God handed out brains, you took a second dick?"_

The woman shook her head as another scene played in her head with this man. They were both kneeling beside a body and his eyes glowed.

_His eyes glowed._

The woman gasped as the implications echoed through her mind and she knew instantly what it meant. Though how she knew this, she had no idea.

"You're _fae_," she calmly announced.

Kenzi's brow shot up. "So, not as forget-ty as we thought after all," she muttered under her breath.

The two fae eyed each other, each sizing the other up. "Are you able to sense this?" the wolf questioned.

The blonde woman paused, not entirely sure she should tell them everything she had just been remembering or not. "No. But I had a memory of some sort. I think I'd heard about you before. I'm still fuzzy with details."

Kenzi's face lit up. "Who cares how she knows? I'm just glad she does because I was _so_ not lookin' forward to havin' that multi-hour convo."

Dyson's phone chimed and he looked at the screen and growled. "Dammit, I have to get back to the station. Are you going to be okay here, Kenzi?"

"No probs, wolf man. Me and the blonde bombshell here have lots of bonding time ahead of us so you go do your cop thing and relax because Kenzi is on the job."

Dyson and the tall blonde looked each other over one last time and then the police detective took his leave.

"Now, what do you want to do first? Icebox raid, movie marathon or both? Please say both," Kenzi asked, but then she realized blonde had gone back to the bedroom and gathered her meager belongings as if she was preparing to leave. "Hey, hold up, sista. Where do you think you're going?"

The blonde was looking around for a bag or something to put her stuff in when she stopped to respond. "I don't know what you're expecting from me exactly, but I don't do girly bonding type things."

"And how would you know? You don't even remember who you are," Kenzi shot back as she chased the blonde into the next room, where she unconsciously headed for the young girl's secret liquor stash, only to find that she was out of vodka. _Dammit_.

Kenzi's brow furrowed. How did she know where she kept her booze?

"You're right, I don't remember who I am," the blonde shot back impatiently. "But I'm pretty confident fingernail painting and pillow fights aren't my thing," she growled, crossing her arms defensively.

"Oh I don't know," a silky smooth voice echoed from the doorway, causing both ladies to turn. "Never underestimate the value of a good pillow fight."

"Bo, you're back!" Kenzi squealed as she pulled her friend into a hug. "How did it go with Her Bitchiness?"

"Pretty much how you'd expect," Bo replied, returning the embrace. "She was able to fill in some of the blanks on our new friend here."

"Can you tell me who I am, and how I was able to do...whatever I did back in that alley?"

The succubus sighed. "Well that might be a little complicated to explain."

"Hold up, Bo-Bo. I got some good news on that front," Bo turned to listen to her friend. "It seems blondie here is starting to remember a couple of things. For starters, she knows about the fae."

"That will save me some time," the succubus exhaled, relieved. "How about I just cut to the chase. You are fae, as I'm sure you've guessed by now." The blonde nodded. "Your name is Tamsin and you are a valkyrie."

Tamsin's brow furrowed, waiting and hoping for more images to pop into her brain to connect what Bo was saying with something she knew.

"Tamsin," Kenzi echoed the succubus. "Isn't that a girlier version of Thomasina?"

"Kenzi," the blonde snarled playfully. "Isn't that a shrimpier version of she-who-gets-her-ass-kicked?"

"Touché, Tamsin the valkyrie," the little human held her arms up in surrender with a smile on her face. "Damn, you got game, girl."

Tamsin smirked.

"Look, I hate to have to interrupt this little tête-à-tête, but I'm afraid there's more," Bo interjected. "The Morrigan, the woman I spoke to about you...she said...well, there's no easy way to say this. She said she killed you about 30 years ago."

The valkyrie scowled.

"Well she was obviously mistaken because, _hello!_" Kenzi gestured toward the blonde.

"No, I don't think so, Kenzi. I guess it's possible she was just playing games with me but she positively ID'd a picture I took of Tamsin and was adamant that she killed her. She swore on her blood oath." Bo took a deep breath before continuing. "Actually, I'm a little worried that she might come after her again and try to finish the job."

All three sat in silence for several long moments as they each tried to figure out what was going on, and then Tamsin jumped up from where she was sitting and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bo grabbed her forearm and stopped the blonde's momentum.

Tamsin sighed. "Look, you two seem like nice people or whatever, but it's not right that you get tied up in my shit, especially when I don't even know what my shit is. So thanks for saving my ass, but I'm out of here."

"Technically, you saved our asses," Kenzi added unhelpfully. "Bo would have totally been down for the count if you hadn't valkyried those two thugs to death." The human looked up and realized Bo was staring daggers at her. "What? It's the truth."

"_Really_, Kenz? Not helping."

"Actually it's very helpful," the valkyrie injected. "Thanks for making my point, shortie."

"Hey now... don't be dissin' my height if you know what's good for you," Kenzi growled, and Tamsin felt a weird sense of déjà vu as her mind flashed back to a similar conversation with the girl, who it would seem had been in her arms at some point. She was walking towards a run down pickup truck and cradling the human to her chest protectively._ "Relax, peewee. I'm taking you to get some help." _ Kenzi was seriously wounded but had the presence of mind to respond. "_Told ya...don't be dissin' my height... if you know...what's good for you..._"

Tamsin shook her head and returned to the present as the others in the room eyed her curiously.

_She knew them_. She didn't know how she knew them, but she did. The blonde was stymied. But how could she have such vivid memories if neither of them knew who she was? Something was seriously wrong here and Tamsin realized it was important that she find out what it was.

"Okay. I'll stay for now. But no fingernail polish," she pointed emphatically at the goth.

"Oh so that means pillow fights are still on the table. Goodie," Bo teased in a lightly flirtatious manner.

"And...that's my cue," Kenzi abruptly rose from her seat on the couch. "Say, you two, I don't know how we're having this conversation without alcohol. I'll be back in a little while, peeps. Oh and Bo...perhaps while I'm out, you can woo the valku-babe into telling you how she knew where to find my stash of hooch."

The human closed the door behind her as she left and Bo and the valkyrie wore identically puzzled expressions.

"How did you..."

"I don't know, it just..." Tamsin sighed. "I just knew where to go."

Bo tried to lighten the mood. "Maybe that's one of your fae powers. Hunting down booze."

"Ha...that would be an awesome power, wouldn't it?" the blonde joked back.

Before Bo could come up with a sufficiently clever response, both women heard a banging sound coming from outside.

"That wouldn't be Kenzi, would it?" Tamsin muttered.

Just then, the front door burst open as a sinister figure barged in.

"Not unless she lost her fashion sense and had a sex change in the last five minutes," Bo quipped. But before Bo and Tamsin had a chance to get to their feet, four more creeps appeared.

"Redcaps," the valkyrie muttered. "Fan-_friggin_-tastic."

Bo quickly looked over towards the blonde, who clearly was beginning to recover more of her memory. But she didn't have a chance to ask about it before the five circled around their prey.

"Well lookie here, mates. A valkyrie and a succubus. Two right proper bitches, ready and waiting just like the Morrigan said they'd be," the first thug sneered.

"Oh come on, boys, five against two? That's not very good odds._ For you_." Tamsin growled before lunging toward one of the men and the fight was on.

Bo whipped out her dagger and took a swipe at two of the redcaps headed toward her.

The redcaps were relentless and functioned like a pack of dogs. The succubus risked a quick peak over toward her new friend and saw that she was managing quite well against the three who were busy attacking her. Or trying to attack her, at any rate. As one would make an attempt to grab her, the valkyrie would adjust her position and shift momentum to her favor. A fist aimed for the blonde's head found its way into the jaw of one of the other redcaps. Tamsin grasped his arm, twisted it behind his back then effortlessly snapped his neck.

Satisfied the valkyrie could take care of herself in close quarters combat, Bo focused on the two redcaps that were after her. She elbowed one of them in the gut and turned to face the other when the first surprised her and grabbed her wrist, turning her back to the second one, who took her in a choke hold.

Using her own body as leverage, she elbowed him in the abs and threw him over her shoulder, adjusted her position in time to slice across the other attacker's face with her dagger and forcefully jabbed him in the eye with it. He screamed as he dropped and Bo twisted back to confront her final attacker.

She had missed the fact that her second assailant had yanked her own dagger from his dead mate's eye socket. Before she could evade his lightning fast strike, the sharp blade was shoved deep into her neck.

Bo collapsed backward into the table behind her and crashed to the hardwood floor, groggily noting that Geraldine had toppled from the table and now rested beside her. The redcap growled as he rushed forward, preparing to finish her off and Bo somehow had the clarity of thought to pick up the katana to defend herself. With only a fraction of a moment to spare, she aimed the blade behind her and toward his gut and grunted as his forward momentum propelled him onto Kenzi's sword.

The redcap gurgled and grasped frantically at the blade as he fell back against and through the decrepit wall and died.

Bo grasped her neck weakly trying to staunch the flow of blood as best as she could but it was a futile effort and she knew it. Too much blood was flowing from the obscenely large gash in her neck.

"Bo?" the succubus heard Tamsin's voice through a fog as her body gave out. "Bo! _Dammit_."

The valkyrie eyed the bloody hole in her new friend's throat and her heart sank. The wound was a fatal one.

Wait. Didn't that redcap say she was a succubus? If so, then there was still a chance.

Tamsin reached down and grasped the brunette to pull her into position, her hands becoming slick with the succubus's blood. Knowing she had no time to spare, she kissed Bo, willing her to take her chi.

But Bo was weak and her natural responses were slow, so slow that she lost consciousness before she was able to react. Tamsin refused to give up and became more assertive, using her tongue to part the succubus's lips, deepening the kiss, and waited.

Finally, after an unbearably long time, the succubus within Bo awoke and took over; and Tamsin felt hands grab her head forcefully as a pull from deep within her signaled the flow of chi rushing from her and into the woman in her arms. It was as painful as it was invigorating. Her mind was a blur and she was enflamed as Bo seemed to come back to herself and regain control of the embrace; and before she knew it, she had been flipped and now found herself on her back with a very amorous succubus on top of her as the kiss and flow of chi continued.

Long moments passed, but eventually Bo pulled away and stunned bright blue eyes looked down into passion-glazed green. "That's the most amazing chi I've ever tasted," Bo admitted. Tamsin's hand snuck up her neck and began scratching the brunette's scalp as she spoke, pulling her head closer. "I've...I've never healed from a wound that serious without having sex before."

"Sex..." Tamsin mumbled against her lips. "Yeah..."

The blonde pulled Bo even closer, arching her back into her to ensure that as much as her body was touching the succubus as possible. Bo's head was spinning as she tasted the valkyrie's mouth with abandon.

Tamsin moaned. "God Bo, you're so beautiful. You're eyes..." the blonde interrupted her own train of thought by pulling the brunette down for more.

The succubus was near crazed, her thoughts muddled by emotion and sensation. All she could think about was the feel of Tamsin's tongue against hers. How soft Tamsin's skin was. How erotic she found taste of blood around Tamsin's lips. She was enthralled.

She was _enthralled_.

Shit.

Bo jerked her head away and regarded the passionate woman still in her grasp as she heard the front door open and Kenzi enter, groceries in tow.

The young human scoffed as she perused her surroundings, noting five dead redcaps, over turned and broken furniture, and two bloody and bruised women on the floor in a passionate embrace. "Dammit, Bo, I can't leave you alone for like _ten seconds_!" she groused as she dropped the bags on the counter.

"Kenzi, I need your help over here," Bo grunted, finding it difficult to think all that clearly with the valkyrie pressed so tightly and intimately against her but unable to find the will to push her away.

Kenzi sauntered over and crouched down next to the duo. "Looks like you're handling things fine on your own, Bo-Bo," the young human commented dryly.

"No, I'm serious, Kenz. I was injured pretty badly and some of my blood got on Tamsin and I guess... in her too," the succubus muttered.

The goth regarded them both. Given how they each were seemingly covered in blood, it would have been a miracle had none of it seeped through the various cuts along the blonde's skin. What she didn't know is what this had to do with her, until she looked at the valkyrie, who she would have previously characterized as brusque and standoffish, wearing a passion infused expression and staring adoringly at her best friend.

Whose blood has the power to enthrall and enslave.

_Ooooh._ That.

Right.

"I'll go get a knife," Kenzi mumbled and began to stand.

"No need. Use this one here," the succubus handed over the blade she used to kill a redcap, the same knife that had been buried in her neck not five minutes earlier.

"Damn, she fell under your succu-spell pretty quickly, compared to everyone else," Kenzi observed as she wiped the residual blood from the knife.

Bo agreed. "It must be a chi thing. Hers is...it's powerful Kenzi. Stronger than any I've ever tasted before. Maybe...maybe the more powerful the chi is the faster they get enthralled."

"Kind of a fae version of the 'bigger they are the harder they fall'," Kenzi mused.

Bo turned her attention back to the valkyrie, who was tracing her eyebrow and cheekbone gently with her fingers and looking at her with a heartbreakingly loving expression.

"Tamsin," the succubus closed her eyes against the sensation of the blonde's caress. "Tamsin," she whispered again, "my blood...enthralls people. It's enthralled you but...but Kenzi is going to fix that now, okay?"

The valkyrie nodded, too enchanted to care and Bo couldn't stop herself from kissing her again. For all she knew, it would be her last chance to do so as the blonde would more than likely return to normal after the spell was broken. She held her face tightly to her, caressing her face with her thumbs and deepened the kiss, groaning as Tamsin enthusiastically responded to her affections. It was just too good.

She wondered if somehow she had been enthralled too.

Distantly, she heard Kenzi voice the chant that would release the bond from her hold, "With harm to none thy will be done, the rest I cleave and the other leave, thou cannot harm her, Bo!"

And with that, Tamsin felt her senses return to her as she realized she was in an incredibly compromising position with Bo, who was currently kissing the hell out of her.

She forcefully pulled away and each woman took stock of the other's expression.

_She was only kissing me because I'm a succubus and she had to to save my life...and was repaid for her efforts by my enslaving her with my blood._

Tamsin saw the doubt on Bo's face, and misunderstood what she read in her blue eyes.

_She was only kissing me because she's a succubus and it's in her nature to respond. And now she's embarrassed that I kissed her back, for whatever reason._

The valkyrie quickly rose to her feet and brushed herself off. "So, uh, I think I'll go get changed. Again." She looked around awkwardly and headed for her small bag of clothes.

"Tamsin," Bo stopped her. "Thank you for saving me. Again."

The valkyrie was about to brush it off but the succubus stood and reached for her hand, holding it gently and urging the blonde to look at her. "I'm sorry about the blood...thing."

Tamsin scoffed, embarrassed. "S'okay...no harm no foul. It's not like you did it intentionally, right?" she smirked.

"Right," Bo whispered, with a little too much emotion for the valkyrie's comfort. Her eyes continued to glow bright blue and Tamsin wanted to ask her why they hadn't changed back but wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to know the answer.

She needed to get away before she did something stupid. Again. The valkyrie cleared her throat and pulled her hand free, awkwardly patting the brunette on the arm. "So. Hey. You might want to go help your human. Looks like she passed out," Tamsin gestured to where Kenzi lay unconscious.

"_Shit_, Kenzi!" Bo rushed over to her friend's side, and the the blonde made a hasty escape to the bathroom.

Tamsin watched with an unfathomable expression as the succubus cared for the young human and then took advantage of the distraction and left the room.


	13. Perchance to Dream

_"I did it!" Bo exclaimed and was surprised when suddenly the valkyrie rushed from the sidelines and into her arms. The kiss was very much unexpected and the succubus was stunned into inactivity. But only for the briefest of moments. As the blonde's hands caressed her face, the brunette's hands grasped her shoulders and pulled their bodies closer together, making the kiss all the more delicious._

Tamsin gasped as her eyes shot open and she looked around to find herself in the same bed she woke from the day before. Except this time...

She turned her head and realized...

She was not alone.

She hadn't been alone yesterday either; however the situation was entirely different. And so was the bedmate. Kenzi had been seated with her legs crossed on the opposite end of the bed, watching her curiously. But Bo...Bo was in the bed. Under the covers.

With her.

The valkyrie took a shuddering breath, overwhelmed by the emotions and physical sensations stirred not only by her dream but also by the presence of the gorgeous brunette.

Whose eyes were both brown and blue.

_Okay. Time to splash some water on my face._

Tamsin slid carefully and quietly out from under the covers and pulled on a red kimono hanging nearby, not noticing that her bed mate was wide awake and her eyes were following her progress to the bathroom, a thoughtful expression gracing her gentle features.

The valkyrie found a small stash of new toothbrushes and chose not to consider why they were there, although it was patently obvious why a succubus would keep a few spare brand new toothbrushes in stock. She searched around the room for a minute or so until she felt she was being watched and turned to see the succubus leaning against the wallboard; her arms were crossed and her body language radiated confidence and control.

It unnerved the blonde, not that she would let on.

Tamsin held up the toothbrush questioningly. "Toothpaste?"

"Footlocker," Bo gestured.

"Thanks." The blonde took her time brushing her teeth and ordered her jumbled thoughts. The act helped distract herself from thinking of the succubus, who was eyeing her closely.

She suddenly understood how a fly must feel when caught in a spider's web.

"Did you know that succubi can read energy?" Bo asked, her voice smooth as silk.

Tamsin turned slowly and saw what could only be described as a hungry look on the brunette's face. She watched with undisguised interest as Bo's eyes changed from brown to electric blue.

"Specifically, energy generated by sexual attraction," the succubus continued. "It's a helpful gift for a succubus to have, don't you think?"

The blonde said nothing as the brunette inched closer to her.

"I felt it right before you woke up...the energy was like an inferno singing my senses...and now?" Bo asked, now standing directly in front of the other woman. "You're lit up like a supernova."

"I had thought you were only affected by my blood, but your system should have been completely restored after Kenzi spoke the charm." Bo's voice was at its lowest, most sultry register and Tamsin was entranced as the succubus's hand reached over, glided up her arm and caressed her cheek, her charms pulsing a trail of erotic energy throughout her body.

"You wanna tell me what you were dreaming about?"

The valkyrie shivered as she gulped visibly. "I...I was dreaming about you. A memory I had of you."

"A memory?" Bo repeated. "What kind of memory of me?"

Tamsin's hand was trembling as it grasped Bo's wrist, holding it against her face. "I don't think it's a good idea, Bo."

"You don't think what's a good idea?"

"Telling you," Tamsin swallowed. "The dreams...these memories...they don't make any sense. I'm having such vivid recollections of you and me, and even Dyson and Kenzi, but I don't see how they can be real since you didn't know who I was when you followed me in that alley."

Bo moved closer, and increased the intensity of the sensual pulses she sent into the valkyrie. "How about you let me be the judge of whether it's a good idea or not. Tell me about the dream, Tamsin."

The succubus had been jarred into awareness by whatever Tamsin had dreamt about; and she hadn't been able to think about anything else since she woke. Whatever it was, she had to know.

"We were in Brazenwood," Tamsin began. "It's a lawless dark fae town with its own set of rules. I...I don't know why we were there. But something happened. You killed a man," the blonde stopped.

"Hmm. I'm not hearing anything that would have caused the response I felt, valkyrie," Bo prompted, her fingers trailing gently along Tamsin's cheek. "What happened next? What caused you to wake up feeling as turned on as you were?"

"You...you were relieved that you did something. You passed a test of some kind. And the next thing I knew..." Tamsin paused and closed her eyes.

"Yes? The next thing you knew..." the succubus urged.

The blonde sighed and opened her eyes, wanting to see Bo's reaction as she told her the truth. "You were in my arms. I was holding your face and I was kissing you. And you...you held yourself close to me...you pulled yourself closer to me, pressed tightly against my body...and you were kissing me back."

Reciting the memory caused Tamsin's aura to spike and Bo felt helpless to do anything but respond to the call of the valkyrie's sweet mouth and her addictive chi. The succubus felt her eyes glow brighter as she surged forward causing the valkyrie to retreat until her back hit the wall behind her. Bo's mouth crushed against the blonde's, their lips opening simultaneously as tongues met and caressed in passionate fury. Each woman's arms grasped almost frantically at the other pulling their bodies flush and Bo was beside herself with need.

The urge to feed was almost overwhelming. It was like she had been propelled back in time to before she knew about the fae and was unable to control her hunger. But somehow she found the will to temper the beast inside, pulling only a gentle stream of chi from the blonde and rewarding her for her sacrifice by sending wave after wave of pleasure into her.

Tamsin moaned as she felt the delicious pain of her chi being traded for erotic bliss and sank even deeper into the embrace.

"Uh...I hate to interrupt your _sextastic_ moment," announced a voice from the doorway to the room, "but you're gonna want to take this call, Bo-Bo."

Bo pulled her mouth away from Tamsin's with great effort; and for several seconds they just stared into each other's eyes, both of them awed and a little overwhelmed by the deep connection each felt toward the other.

"Coming," Bo replied huskily as she pushed away from the shellshocked valkyrie and made her way to her phone.

"You wish," Kenzi muttered as she wandered away after ensuring the succubus and valkyrie were out of earshot.


	14. Coda

**A/N: This is a short-ish chapter but important set up for the future. After this, there are only two other chapters that are less than 2000 words.**

**In other words, the action will start to pick up shortly. Thank you for hanging in there with me!**

* * *

"You didn't get this information from me, Bo, because technically I shouldn't have it," Dyson began. "But I was able to procure certain documentation about your new friend. According to these reports, she was killed about 30 years ago under suspicious circumstances, read 'fae'."

"Got any more information?" Bo asked.

There was a pause and Bo could visualize the frown gracing his noble features. "You don't seem surprised."

The succubus sighed. "No, I'm not. You're just confirming something I've already heard."

"You should be careful with this one," the wolf warned. "I've seen the forensics on this including crime scene photos; and whoever wanted her to die wanted it to happen in about as painful manner as possible."

"I read you loud and clear. Thanks Dyson, I owe you," Bo replied, bothered by the thoughts invading her mind. Just then, the now fully dressed valkyrie entered the room and took a seat on the sofa.

"I'm sure you'll figure out some way to repay me," the detective flirted playfully, unaware that the succubus was mentally and emotionally on a different frequency.

"Right, okay. See ya," the brunette disconnected the call, not really having heard Dyson sign off, and sat near the blonde who, for some reason refused to meet her eyes. But before she had a chance to say anything, Kenzi came into the room and sidelined her current train of thought.

"So what's the dealio, Bo-bolicious?" Kenzi asked, pretending not to notice the thick tension in the room.

"Dyson confirmed the intel we got about Tamsin's death," Bo reported.

"Does he know how she's alive and kickin' now?"

Bo shook her head. "No, and I think it's time we found answers. I think I should introduce you to my grandfather, Tamsin," the succubus grinned.

"Trick," the valkyrie emotionlessly intoned, still refusing to meet her eyes.

The succubus scowled. "Yeah, Trick. Do you have memories of him too?"

The blonde nodded. "I don't understand any of this. Things are getting stranger and stranger. How do I know all of you so well and you not know me at all? How is that possible?"

Bo lay her hand on Tamsin's knee and finally, green eyes met soft brown. "We'll figure this out."

"You know it," Kenzi chimed in helpfully. "If anyone can get to the bottom of crazy, strange and impossible, it's the Trickster."

A half hour later they arrived at the Dal and Tamsin was buffeted by a long series of new memories and events she experienced with many of those present.

She sat down at the far end of the bar, unconsciously trying to sit as far away from Bo as inhumanly possible. Kenzi noticed right away and felt compelled to point it out to her bestie. "Is it just me or is Tamsin sitting far enough away from us that we'd need to dial an area code just to speak with her?"

"I know, really?" Bo whispered back. "She's been acting weird ever since..."

"...ever since you sucked face on the footlocker. Yeah I know," the human finished Bo's thought as only she could. Bo scowled at her. "Usually tonsil hockey causes the opposite reaction with your prey. What happened, did you have garlic breath or something? Or..._oh my God_. Did your nose run all over her face?!"

"NO! and no," the succubus answered. "It was nothing like that. In fact, it was..." she exhaled, not knowing how to categorize the intense exchange.

"Valkyrlicious? Succumazing? Sextastic?" Kenzi supplied.

"You used that last one already," the succubus replied drolly.

"It's okay to recycle _fantasmic_ Kenzi-isms, especially if they're not appreciated the first time around," the human replied glibly.

"Oh I appreciated it just fine. I'm just not sure about our friend over there," Bo mused as Trick arrived from his home beneath the Dal, carrying a few of his books, which he plopped on the counter.

The barkeep turned his full attention to Tamsin. "Every one of these books say you shouldn't be here right now," Trick began without any preamble. "So how about we start with who you are and what you know."

Tamsin sighed. "I wished I could help you but I don't know what's going on. Hour by hour, I keep remembering more and more about things that can't possibly be true."

"For instance..." Trick prodded.

"For instance, I remembered I'm a police detective. Dyson's partner as a matter of fact."

Dyson grunted and imagined how life might have been had Vex not been forced on him.

"Watch it there, mate," Vex whined. "I don't need to be a mind reader to know you're thinking less than charitable thoughts about me right about now."

The wolf growled but otherwise ignored the mesmer.

"I remember a case we were on," the valkyrie continued as she stared off into the distance. "A rakshasa infiltrated a new age wellness center and was using hypnosis to lure victims into killing themselves so it could feed off the energy." Bo, Dyson and Vex all shot confused looks at her, each remembering the case clearly but not recognizing her involvement.

"Do you have any memories of me?" Kenzi wondered.

"Sure do, shortie," Tamsin teased, knowing how much Kenzi hated it. "Bo had insisted that you weren't you and no one believed her. No one except for me. I helped bust her out of the cell at the back of the Dal here and we traced down the real you. Although, on second thought, perhaps we should have traded you in for a taller model," Tamsin smirked.

"Watch yourself, blondie," Kenzi threatened. "I know where you sleep, you know."

Tamsin's eyes opened wide and she looked around to see if anyone took note of what the human said. Apparently Dyson did, as did Bo.

And also a blonde woman who just entered the Dal. The doctor who took care of her.

Lauren Lewis.

Bo's former lover.

_Damn_. It would be nice if certain pieces of her memory would come together a little faster.

_And dammit, Kenzi!_

"Oh? And where is that, Kenzi?" Lauren asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. "You know it's considered rude to steal someone's patient out from under their nose like that."

"I'm...sorry, Lauren," Bo interjected before Kenzi could say something else she'd have to smack her for. "It was my idea and it was for her safety."

"Yeah that sure turned out well," Kenzi muttered under her breath. "If having a knife sticking out of your throat can be considered a rip-roaring success."

Lauren was shocked and distressed and she looked over at Dyson, who she assumed would have known about this and had been the one to heal her; but his expression was just as upset and confused as hers was.

All eyes turned to the valkyrie, who shifted uncomfortably on her stool. "You're _this close_ to finding your ass being replaced by another Kitsune, half-pint," Tamsin growled.

"The Kitsune," Bo repeated, trying to get everyone to focus on the topic at hand and away from what happened the night before. "It kidnapped Kenzi and took her place."

"Inari," the valkyrie supplied.

"Yes. Inari. But the one who helped me rescue Kenzi was Dyson. He believed me when no one else did," Bo responded and Lauren shrank a little back in her seat. That was the beginning of the end for them. Dyson had been there for Bo when she hadn't been, time and time again; first by healing her internal bleeding where she couldn't, then the Kitsune kidnapping and, more recently, for Bo's Dawning invitation, where he helped her navigate the variety of challenges she needed to conquer in order to enter the temple. And then of course he went with her on her Dawning as her hand, after which she had been forced to chi-suck an entire room to revive him.

As much as she loved Bo, she found that she was entirely incompatible with that which made her fae. _If only Bo were human_, Lauren thought to herself for the hundredth time.

Even though she had broken things off with the succubus long before that moment, she still wished her the best and was pleased to learn she had survived and evolved into a proper fae.

"How can our memories be so similar and so different at the same time?" Tamsin puzzled. She reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and Trick's attention fell to her jewelry on her right wrist.

"That bracelet. Where did you get it?" the Blood King asked, recognizing what he saw but not believing it.

Tamsin looked down at her wrist, confused by the bracelet's presence. She had worn it as far back as she could remember, which truthfully, wasn't very long all things considered since most of her memory prior to two weeks ago was still largely a mystery except for various thoughts or memories that randomly flashed her head.

Her eyes widened as a single word rushed to the foreground. Like that one.

"Sisuthros," the valkyrie uttered almost subvocally.

"_Sisu_-what now?" Bo and Kenzi asked simultaneously.

Trick gasped. "The Sumerian Oracle. I was right." The barkeep paused and gentled his expression. "You don't belong here."

Tamsin closed her eyes as more memories flooded her mind. "You were the one who told me the story of Sisuthros. But it wasn't you, was it?"

"No. It wasn't," the barkeep softly replied.

"Excuse me, hey, hi, hello there," Bo jumped in, waving her hand emphatically to get their attention. "Could someone please tell me what the _hell_ is going on here?"

"I wouldn't mind the answer to that one myself, succubus," a smooth voice intoned from the door.

All heads turned to witness the arrival of the Morrigan with two of her goons in tow.

"Oh great," Kenzi griped. "There goes the _fae_-borhood."


	15. A Wanderer's Tale

Tamsin's mind was a blur; so much so that she barely realized that the Morrigan had entered the Dal, so wrapped up was she in what she and Trick had been discussing.

But it wasn't you, was it? No, it wasn't.

_No, it wasn't._

The three little words echoed in her mind and turned her life upside down, presenting just as many questions as they answered.

_I know Trick, but this isn't the Trick I know._

And Bo and Kenzi. Dyson. The dreams really were memories.

_They were real._

Although she was completely stymied as to what would lead her to kiss Bo with both of them in their underwear while Dyson was looking on like a horny teenage boy.

That one must have just been a delusion, probably caused by trauma.

Or bad sushi.

But that wasn't this Bo, or this Dyson. These people didn't know her and had none of these memories because this wasn't her reality.

_I don't belong here._

Tamsin fingered the ice blue jewel in the bracelet. _The same color Bo's gets when she's hungry_, the valkyrie mused. She wondered if she had had that thought before then figured she probably had.

She was getting entirely too schmaltzy in her old age.

Her many lifetimes. A new thing she had remembered about herself.

The valkyrie's fingers traced the delicate carvings around the stone. How did she come to have this bracelet? Why did she leave her reality and come to this one? Did she come of her own accord or did someone send her through the mirror? If so, why?

The blonde closed her eyes and willed herself to recall any relevant information. Something. Anything. Trick told her about the bracelet and...what happened next? She knew needed to remember but her mind stubbornly remained blank.

Tamsin sighed. Hopefully those memories would return to her just like the many others that had been slowly filtering in. She needed to know. Her instincts were telling her that time was of the essence.

The rest of the Dal came back into focus as Tamsin became aware of the conversation between the Morrigan and Bo.

"You had the Valkubitch when you came to see me yesterday," Evony cooed. "You know it's considered bad form to keep something that belongs to another. Something like that could cause hostilities to spike and before you know it, we're at war. Now is that what you want, succubus?"

"It's also considered bad form to show up where you're not wanted, Evony," Bo shot back. "And may I remind you, Tamsin isn't yours anymore. You killed her thirty some odd years ago by your own admission. She holds no allegiance to the dark anymore, nor should she."

"I did killed her; and yet here she is alive and well," the Morrigan's expression darkened. "Let's be clear about this. Pledging your fealty to the dark isn't like marriage. There is no til death do you part kind of out for her. She was mine then, she's mine now and she will continue to be mine until she permanently ceases to exist. So be a dear and stand aside, or my friends here will be forced to make a mess in this charming little hovel." Her two large companions inched closer threateningly.

"You hold no sway here, Morrigan," Trick growled. "The Dal Riata is neutral ground and you know it." Dyson stepped forward in defense, as did Bo, and Evony laughed.

"A bar room brawl? How positively cliché. But, I guess, go with what you know," the Morrigan gestured her thugs to where Tamsin what sitting. "Get her."

"WAIT," Bo stopped them before things got out of hand. "Why are you so hot and bothered to kill Tamsin? What did she do to you to make you want her dead?"

"Oh my. A _valiant succubus_. Whatever will they come up with next!" Evony smiled coquettishly. "I don't have to answer you, but I will because apparently you're just not getting it yet. You don't have to do ANYTHING for me to want to kill you. It just so happens though that blondie over there was on a list, simply for being what she is."

"You mean a valkyrie."

"The person who wanted me to kill her paid me quite well and told me they wanted her to suffer," the Morrigan grinned maliciously. "You saw the reports, didn't you, detective?"

Dyson realized all eyes were on him. "You? You're the one who sent it to me?"

"I made sure it got into your hands, yes. I needed to make sure the right people saw that the killing was thoroughly documented in case the mysterious reappearance of the world's last valkyrie caused some to...question my efficacy or my power," Evony smirked. "So was it? Documented thoroughly?"

The wolf growled. "You know it was. The forensic report on the body made it clear that you made her suffer before she died."

Trick blanched. "There was an autopsy?"

Dyson nodded. "Yes. And the report was very detailed as to the damage done to the victim."

The Blood shook his head. "No I don't think you understand. There shouldn't have been a body at all!"

Evony's smirk blossomed into a malevolent grin. "I knew the Ash didn't just keep you around for your looks."

The detective was puzzled. "What do you mean? Why shouldn't there be a body?"

"The life cycle of a valkyrie," Tamsin droned unemotionally, "is to live, serve, die and be reborn over and over. At the end of each life cycle, we are taken to Valhalla and then sent back to earth at a prescribed time."

Bo wondered how she could talk about this without any feeling. And then she took a closer look and saw that Tamsin's eyes were tearing up, her expression pained. The succubus had an almost overwhelming urge to hug the somewhat standoffish blonde but figured it would not be appreciated by many present. The valkyrie included.

"If you had a body to examine, that means the valkyrie she killed suffered her true death," Tamsin concluded.

"True death?"

"The final death of a valkyrie. It usually happens after they've lived all the lives they were individually prescribed. I have scant records of valkyries in general, but there are indications that a few valkyries had even lived for thousands of years before the Culling," Trick answered Dyson's implied question.

"All true, bar man," the Morrigan scoffed. "Sometimes the true death can be...accelerated, which happened during the Culling. Tamsin, however, was not one of those cases, were you, darling? How many lifetimes have you lived now? You were already about to expire for the last time when we last met three decades ago."

Bo turned sad eyes toward the valkyrie. "You're dying?" Tamsin turned away and didn't respond. "What can we...how can we... _Lauren!_" the succubus turned to her former lover. "Please tell me you can nerd something up to stop this!"

The human doctor shook her head. "No I don't think there is Bo. I was looking into that very thing when she was liberated from my lab; and from what I could find on the topic, there's no way to arrest or prevent the natural life cycle of a valkyrie from playing out to its logical conclusion."

"You mean true death," the succubus added, and then her brow furrowed as a thought occurred to her. "Hold on. Why were you researching the life cycle of a valkyrie? Did something...?" Bo didn't need to finish her sentence. She could tell by Lauren's expression that she had hit the mark. "What? What happened?"

Lauren sighed. She hadn't wanted to go into this for the sake of her patient's privacy, even if she had only been in her care for a few hours. But now...now it seemed she didn't really have any choice. "You had mentioned she lost consciousness after using her power. That's one of the signs that a valkyrie is at the end of her life cycle. And then, when I was examining her initially, I noticed a some of her hair had come loose. A small chunk of it fell out just from me barely combing through it with my fingers."

"_Dammit Lauren!_ I can't believe you didn't tell me!" the succubus exclaimed.

"And what good would that have done? You can't fix this! You can't change it anymore than you could change your nature for the sake of our relationship!"

A tense silence followed, one which the Morrigan couldn't help herself but break. "With drama like this, who needs _Pretty Little Liars_?"

"Why couldn't you have just let her die in her own time? If she was headed that way anyway, what difference did it make one way or the other?" Kenzi asked the Morrigan, getting the conversation back where it needed to be focused.

"Uh, newsflash, sweetie. I don't talk to pets. Especially those who are allowed to roam without a leash," Evony sneered.

"The question is a valid one, regardless of who asked it," Trick prodded.

Evony was incensed. It was bad enough being questioned by a human, but this? This was a bridge too far. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, barkeeper, but you certainly do not have the authority to question dark fae politics."

"And what does this have to do with dark fae politics? She was just a skip you were hired to take out. She didn't mean anything to you. She was just a name on a list! You could have refused the job if you wanted," the bar keeper pressed, carefully avoiding the issue of what authority he did and did not hold.

"I couldn't have turned down the job even if I wanted to, little man! People who betray the Wanderer don't live very long to regret it."

"The what?" Kenzi asked.

"The who?" Bo said simultaneously.

"_The Wanderer_," Tamsin whispered, finally addressing the Morrigan directly. "That's who sent me here."

"Sent you where?" Bo asked, but the valkyrie ignored the question and focused on the dark fae leader who clearly had heard what she said given her incredulous expression.

"You. You know the Wanderer," Evony asked, and then she noticed the bracelet gracing the blonde's wrist and blanched visibly.

The valkyrie nodded solemnly. "Look...I don't have a clear, full picture yet of what happened and why but I'm remembering more and more as time goes on. I now remember who sent me here, and I remember why." Tamsin turned serious eyes at Bo.

The succubus looked from Trick, to Evony, to Tamsin, and back to Trick again. By the looks on their faces, ranging from stunned disbelief to horror to dread, something major was happening.

"OKAY. Everybody _hold it_. I want to know WHAT THE HELL is going on right the hell NOW," Bo growled, her patience at an end.

Trick noticed the valkyrie kept shifting her attention to the Morrigan and realized she wasn't going to talk until the leader of the dark fae and her two minions had vacated the premises.

"That's your cue, Morrigan," the Blood King ordered. "Take your two guard dogs and leave the Dal now, or we really will have that clichéd bar room brawl you were talking about earlier and I'll be forced to hire extra help this weekend to clean up whatever's left of your remains after Dyson's done with you."

Dyson snarled and allowed his wolf to make itself known.

"Simmer down, Fido," Evony replied, her tone subdued. "Alright. I'll go. But this isn't over, valkyrie," she threatened, weakly.

The Morrigan and her two thugs left and everyone saw it for what it was. A retreat.

"Tamsin?" Bo approached the quiet valkyrie tentatively and gently laid her hand on her back supportively. She chose to ignore the fact that the blonde flinched at her touch, figuring she must be overwhelmed, not only by what they just learned about her but also by all the events of the last few days.

The valkyrie didn't acknowledge the brunette's presence as she tried to order her thoughts.

"Three weeks ago, I found myself in a warehouse with no idea how I got there. Until yesterday, I had been in a haze, not knowing who I was and certainly not what I was. I was in a constant state of terror and pain, not understanding what was happening or why. I stayed in hiding, stealing food or whatever I could to get by."

Tamsin finally turned to face Bo. "When you caught up with me in the alley, I had been trying to break into a car because I saw some food in the front seat. That's why those two guys were after me."

The succubus nodded, encouragingly and the valkyrie continued. "That was the start of the chain of events that seemed to unlock my mind. The fight in the alley forced me to instinctively use my powers. And when I briefly regained consciousness in the doctor's lab...I don't remember the last time I felt pain like that." She turned to Lauren. "Whatever you gave me helped fix what was broken, like a blockage being cleared out; because when I fully woke up later on at Bo's, it was the first time in weeks I had awoken with a clear head.

"Since then, I have been recovering my memory; and now..." Tamsin looked at Bo again, her expression sorrowful. "Now, I remember everything."

Bo was concerned by the look in the blonde's eyes but rallied for her. "Whatever it is, we'll all figure it out together. How about we start with your bracelet and what you meant by not belonging here, since by the way you're acting, the two are somehow connected. Am I right?"

Tamsin nodded. "Trick actually might do a better job getting down to the specifics and the history of this bracelet, though. I just know the basics...that using it in conjunction with a specific mirror allows the user, me in this instance, to travel to alternate realities."

The succubus pulled her hand back and eyed the blonde strangely. "Are you trying to suggest you're from an alternate reality?"

"Did you just say 'mirror'?" Kenzi cringed, mentally flashing back to a time she was sucked into Baba Yaga's realm after drunkenly cursing Dyson and, by extension, Bo.

The Blood King shook his head toward her. "I know what you're thinking about, Kenzi. And while there's a mirror involved, Baba Yaga has nothing to do with any of this." The human sighed in deep relief. To that day, she still had nightmares about the Russian witch who ate girls who didn't do as they were told and lived in a house made of their bones.

"As to your question, Bo, yes. Tamsin...this Tamsin...used the bracelet to travel from her reality to ours. It's why we have such divergent memories. Her world turned out pretty different from ours, I imagine," Trick concluded.

"How do you use a bracelet on a mirror?" Vex injected. Every head turned, everyone having forgotten the dark fae detective was even still there. "What? It's a legitimate question."

"I...actually I don't quite remember that part," Tamsin confessed under her breath.

"I thought you said you remembered everything," Lauren added. She was intrigued by the presence of the other blonde and yet deeply concerned, sensing somehow that her being there portended something ominous.

"I do, mostly," the valkyrie admitted.

"Yeah, see, it's the '_mostly_' part that has us all a bit nervous," Vex replied.

Bo frowned at both Lauren and Vex, even though she knew they had each brought up relevant points. "How about we deal with what you do know for certain and then we'll deal with the rest later."

Tamsin took a deep breath. This was the part she had been dreading since the memory returned to her during the Morrigan's diatribe earlier.

"Your Dawning. You've already gone through it in this reality, right?"

Bo, Dyson and Lauren all reacted to the word, but in very different ways. The succubus seemed proud, the wolf looked almost smug, whereas the doctor wore an expression of tired resignation.

"Yeah. Pretty recently actually," Bo confirmed. "It was challenging, especially that last part," she paused and shared a knowing look with the wolf, "but not anything like the hell I had been anticipating."

The valkyrie steeled herself. "Where I come from, in my...reality, things...um...didn't work out quite as well."

"Not 'quite as well.' What does that mean?" Trick asked.

"Oh. My. God. Did she end up with a DONG?" Kenzi exclaimed. All eyes turned on her and she felt properly chastened. "Sorry about that. It was my one great fear about the whole thing."

Tamsin couldn't help but be amused, regardless of the seriousness of the conversation. "Not to worry, short stack. My Bo came back dongless."

Dyson frowned. There was something about the way the valkyrie used the phrase, "My Bo" that caused a shiver of what could only be jealousy. Bo felt a shiver as well, though she knew now was not the time to try to figure out what it was or what it meant.

The blonde composed herself as she continued her story. "I came here after it happened, or rather I came to my Dal. The place was a disaster area, like a tornado went through it. And...there were bodies lying all over the floor."

Bo gasped and Tamsin did her best to disregard the horrified expression on her face. "Trick, you were here. So was the doctor, Kenzi and a fae woman I didn't know."

"And...you're saying...I killed all of them?" the brunette asked, terrified to hear the answer.

"No, Bo. You didn't kill anyone. A version of you went through the Dawning and that person came out..._differently_." Tamsin's memory flashed back to the demon she fought in a junk yard and contrasted that Bo with the warm, loving and deeply distressed succubus standing before her.

"And where was D-man during all of this?" Kenzi interrupted.

The valkyrie sighed. "I don't know, exactly. He wasn't at the Dal when I got there. My world's Trick told me that he somehow was pushed back into the Temple."

"That's not possible," the bar keeper exclaimed.

"That was my understanding too, but that's what he told me. If it makes you feel any better, he was just confused about it as you are."

"But...people did die. Your Bo was responsible for that, wasn't she?"

_No, the only person responsible is the one who sabotaged your Dawning, but I can't tell you that or you won't understand why it's necessary to trust this plan._

Tamsin awkwardly pat her on the arm. She sucked at this gentle, touchy-feely shit. "Yes. I'm sorry but yes. People died."

Bo yanked her arm away and looked at the valkyrie with angry eyes. "I don't need your pity. I just need to know why you're telling us this and what you expect me to do about it."

_And here comes the really tough part_, Tamsin mused.

"We don't have anyone powerful enough to stop her," the valkyrie hedged. "I tried but, as we previously discussed, I'm not quite at my best these days," she smirked.

Bo leaned closer, understanding and concern etched in her features. "I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?"

_And there it was_, the valkyrie pondered. _That indefinable, inscrutable essence that makes Bo who she is. She cares so much, feels guilty over things outside her control and puts herself out there to correct injustices. To right that which is wrong. She's virtuous, yet, she's a succubus. Have I ever in my life done something just because it was the right thing to do, no matter the cost?_

Tamsin never considered the fact that she was willing to undertake this mission in the first place was proof that she was capable of just that.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, succulette. In case you missed it, I heal fairly quickly," the blonde grinned before turning serious again. "But the fight made it abundantly clear that I was way out of my league. And with Dyson missing and you, or rather my Bo being the way she is...we don't have anyone strong enough to make things right."

"You mean kill her," Dyson supplied.

"No," Tamsin corrected heatedly. "Absolutely not. I never would have agreed to come here if that was his intention."

"Who's intention?"

The valkyrie started. "What?"

"Who's intention?" Trick repeated. "You said you wouldn't have agreed to this if killing Bo was 'his' intention. Who is 'he'?"

Even though she had mentioned it earlier, it had been out of context and clearly no one had pieced it together with what she was saying now.

Tamsin grimaced. She hadn't quite meant to get into that part just yet. Instead, she wanted to slowly build her way up to it; though how she would have slowly built up to that, she had no idea. Perhaps blurting it out like that was a blessing in disguise. Of course, now she had to decide exactly how much to tell about her employer.

Going into excruciating detail about how she got involved with him in the first place or what her original mission was regarding her Bo didn't seem like a very good idea and probably would only muddy the waters. But she had to tell them something.

"Okay, so, this might not make a whole lot of sense, especially in light of what the Morrigan said earlier, but I was sent here...um...by the Wanderer."

"WHAT?!" Almost everyone responded simultaneously.

"Wait now. Calm down everyone," the valkyrie soothed. "It's like you said earlier, Trick. My world turned out differently from this one and where I'm from he I have an understanding of sorts," she prevaricated.

"Thank God that wasn't vague at all," Kenzi remarked wryly.

Trick eyed her bracelet and started putting a few pieces together. "How did the Wanderer know about the bracelet and what it could do?"

"God, talk about déjà vu all over again," Tamsin groused. "You already know the answer to that, dude."

"Are you _serious_?" Trick exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?"

"Okay, so raise your hand if you're like totally lost again," Kenzi asked and everyone but Trick and Tamsin raised their hands in the affirmative.

"Look, it would take too long to explain; but long story short, the Wanderer is responsible for the creation of mirror and the bracelet and yes, Trick, he has a vested interest in Bo which is why he sent me here in the first place to find her and bring her back with me. No, I'm not going to go into details as to what that interest just yet. And yes, Trick, _of course_ I know how dangerous he is and while I don't trust his end motivations, I know for a fact that he really does want this Bo to come back to my world to help set things right," the valkyrie summarized, judging by their expressions that she had anticipated their reactions and questions pretty accurately.

She would have felt smug if the situation weren't so dire.

"You want Bo to return with you to your world," Dyson asked incredulously.

"Take Bo to your reality? _What?_ Do you know how many ways that could go wrong?" Trick asked, frantically.

"Okay," Kenzi began again. "So raise your hand if you think this completely insane plan is a horrible, _horrible_ idea."

Tamsin growled. "This is what I get for trying to be nice." She grabbed the succubus's arm forcefully. "Listen to me. You didn't just turn out badly in my world. You are a_ friggin'_ nightmare. You're a demon, with horns and everything! You exited the Temple and you killed Lauren AND Kenzi and a lot of other unknown individuals, fae and human alike, because you could not control your powers nor were you inclined to do so."

She knew she was hurting Bo...but pain could be a fantastic motivator, a fact Tamsin understood all too well.

"I can't go back empty-handed. If I do, more people will die. Trick...the Trick of my world...is devastated. He's alone now. With you turned crazy psycho killer bitch on steroids, he has no other friends or loved ones left. Dyson's gone. Kenzi is GONE. He has no one else. Do you _get me now_?"

Trick looked over at Bo and almost gasped. The look in her eyes...she was devastated. The thought that she could ever do that to any of her loved ones...that she could be responsible for the deaths of Lauren, of Kenzi. _ Oh God. _ She killed Kenzi. The brunette was beside herself, equal measures of grief and self hatred battling for dominance in her countenance. He felt compelled to help ratchet the emotions down a notch or two and lapsed into a little self-deprecating humor.

"Gee, Tamsin, I never knew you cared so much about me," the bar keep smiled and then noticed Tamsin's tortured expression. God, he had been so focused on his granddaughter, it never occurred to him. Tamsin was here for Bo, not only to take her back to fix whatever this mess was but also because, whether she knew it or not or whether she was willing to admit it, Bo meant more to her than she let on.

The valkyrie knew what he was doing and played along. "Where would I get my booze if I couldn't come to the Dal for the good stuff, Trickster?"

"Look, I still don't feel this is a good idea, but..." Dyson began.

"I'm going." Bo declared, interrupting the wolf's train of thought.

"Bo..."

"This is not up for discussion, Dyson! I have to do this," the succubus stated.

"You misunderstand. I figured you were going to do this given how stubborn you are. I was just going to say that I'm going to go with you."

"No, you're not."

"Bo, listen to me..." Dyson urged.

"Forget it! This is just too dangerous to involve anyone else. And even though Tamsin didn't say this specifically, I'd be willing to bet that I was the one responsible for her world's Dyson being trapped in the Temple," Bo turned toward the valkyrie who looked away from the brunette's piercing gaze. "Silence is assent, Tamtam," the succubus growled.

"Besides, Bo-Bo and Tammers already have their plus one, namely moi," Kenzi chimed in.

"_Really, _Kenzi? Haven't you been listening to what everyone's been saying here? To what you yourself said about this being, quote, _horribly insane_?" Bo was exasperated.

"Uh yeah. And being horribly insane makes this plan different from half the shit we do how, exactly?" the human rolled her eyes.

"Kenzi," Bo walked over to her human friend and tenderly held her by her shoulders.

"Oh no you don't, Bo. You're not going to give me the whole 'live your life and be happy safely away from me' speech again. _Not this time!_" the human warned.

"Afraid so, Kenz, and I mean it this time. We're traveling to an alternate reality to try to subdue a nearly unstoppable demon-like ME. That doesn't leave any margin for error. I need to know you're safe and that there's no chance that what happened to that world's Kenzi happens to you too."

Kenzi exhaled sharply and her eyes blazed in defiance. "Fine. Go do..._whatever_."

The succubus frowned. That was a little too easy.

"Look, I'd hate to force you to forego all the super sappy see-you-laters that await you, but we're on a bit of a time crunch here, succubus," Tamsin pressed.

The brunette tilted her head questioningly. "And just how do you know this, valkyrie?"

The blonde sighed. "I don't know how I know...just like I don't know how I know how to make the bracelet work now. I just do."

"You didn't know how it worked earlier," the bar keep reminded.

"And I still don't know HOW it works. I just know how to make it do what we want," the valkyrie replied.

"Aaaaaand I'm lost again," Vex whined. "Anybody else, or is it just me?"

"We need to be in physical contact for us both to be transported," Tamsin informed the succubus, as she tried not to picture how close they were about an hour ago at the clubhouse. She realized she didn't succeed when she noticed Bo's smirk. _ Like a supernova_, the succubus had said earlier. She sighed to herself.

"Well if that's all you need, then here I am," the brunette teased lightly as she held onto Tamsin's arm, noticing the heat radiating not only from her aura but also from her skin. The valkyrie stifled a groan at the sensations generated by their skin on skin contact and focused her attention on the bracelet as the succubus said her goodbyes.

Bo's eyes met everyone else's in the room as she smiled warmly. "Hold down the fort for me while I'm gone, will ya?"

Dyson noticed no one else was able to reply so he forced a tight grin on his face. "You know we will. Be safe, Bo."

The succubus was listening to Tamsin whisper some incantation as her fingers hovered above the stone in the bracelet which began to glow bright blue. The light expanded and surrounded them and a mirror seemed to materialize out of nowhere. She started to feel her body being deconstructed when an object hit both her and the valkyrie with great force; then all three beings were sucked into the mirror, which faded out of existence when they disappeared and traveled to Tamsin's dark world.

"We all sorta shoulda seen that coming, dontcha think?" Vex commented wryly as those still present in the Dal realized they were short one short person.

"Bo's not going to like this. Not one little bit," the mesmer concluded.


	16. Return of the Valkyrie

**A/N: Tamsin is back in her reality and she has a tag-a-long. Or two. :) I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Tamsin was enjoying one of her favorite recurring erotic dreams.

She was in a large soft bed. The mixed scent of vanilla and passion fruit wafted through the air enticingly and large, fluffy pillows framed her body.

And a dark, unknown woman was lying on top of her, pressing into her wantonly and doing amazing things to her body.

There was always some variety when this particular dream made its way to the forefront of her mind. Sometimes she she was naked and sometimes not. Sometimes the scent was freesia or cinnamon apples. But the unseen dark figure with her was a constant, and had been ever since she started having this dream four centuries ago.

The valkyrie smiled to herself as the woman parted her lips with her tongue and began a passionate exploration of her mouth. _We're about to get to the good parts_, she mused hazily.

The dream felt decidedly more realistic than it usually did, not that she would complain about it.

A hand slid slowly up her left side and glazing tantalizingly over her breasts for a few short seconds before making its way behind her neck, grasping authoritatively as the kiss transitioned into an even more passionate exchange.

Tamsin stifled a moan as the stranger's right hand pulled under her thigh and urged her to wrap her leg around the figure, forcing an even tighter, closer connection, just like always.

The valkyrie's hands did their own exploration as per usual, and she enjoyed the mixed texture of skin on clothing as well as skin on skin. _Oh, we're both dressed this time_, the blonde hazily realized. _Pity_.

It was around this point that she usually woke up seriously aroused and cursing whoever would listen that she wasn't allowed to finish her encounter with her anonymous bedmate; but this time...this time was different.

This time, she was still here with her as the sensations became even stronger, even more real. It was like she really was in bed with this woman and not just dreaming it.

Tamsin was completely engrossed in the fantasy, not at all surprised when the stranger's right hand continued to trail up her side and began sending erotic pulses into her body, even though that had never happened before.

Their mouths never broke contact with each other as she felt her chi being pulled from her when the kiss deepened even further and the sensual caress of tongue on tongue evolved into something more. This was new, it was also painful yet deliciously erotic; and the blonde held her mysterious woman even tighter and surged into her as maddening pleasure pulses were continually pushed into her body.

She groaned again, insanely turned on, and wondered foggily if just this once she'd be allowed to see her bedmate, this stranger who did indescribable things to her. She decided to risk it and opened her eyes, only to note that she was not on the large bed filled with fluffy pillows, but rather on an old, dusty floor next to what used to be a bookshelf before it was smashed into pieces.

Tamsin frowned and grasped her lover's head, severing the intimate connection and saw... not an illusion. Not a fantasy or a dream woman, but a half-awake, half-aware succubus, a lazy grin gracing her features.

Oh. _My God_.

"_Bo_?" Tamsin croaked and Bo's eyes slowly opened as she became more aware of herself and her surroundings. She glanced around hazily, noticing the books strewn over a floor that could do to meet a broom sometime soon. Her brow furrowed as electric blue eyes continued scanning the area and finally met the confused and sexually aroused expression of the blonde underneath her.

"Tamsin," the succubus whispered silkily and felt the valkyrie's excitement level spike, causing her eyes to flair just a little brighter in response.

It would be so easy to ignore the incongruity of things, ignore where they are and forget about whatever important thing they were supposed to be doing for just a little while. She could tell Tamsin was close. It wouldn't take much effort to...

"What..._the fae_...was that?!" a curse echoed from the opposite side of the room.

Bo swore to herself, growling internally and tamping down the natural responses of her inner succubus as she saw the valkyrie scowl and then felt her push her away. "Off me, succubus," Tamsin growled as she sat up and frowned as her surroundings came into focus.

Bo was frustrated, sexually and otherwise; and she knew the valkyrie was as well. But it seemed they had a few other things to worry about at the moment.

Like their mission.

Like where they were right now and how they got there.

Like the voice of someone who shouldn't have been there with them.

"Bo? Are you here?" the voice rang out again and Tamsin and Bo shared droll expressions as the a moment where they each collected their scattered wits, calmed their racing hearts and wondered what they were going to do about this unexpected development.

"I swear to God I better be missing that girl so much that I'm delusional and hearing voices right about now," the succubus grumbled.

"If you're delusional then it's catching because I hear it too, succulette," Tamsin muttered back.

Bo got to her feet and offered a hand up to Tamsin, who was a little slow to take it and then both fae women scoured the room for the source of the persistent whine from the other side of the room and found it lying upside down half on, half off a couch.

"We crashed through bookshelves and she landed on a soft couch. Of course."

Bo scowled at the blonde then turned her attention to their hitchhiker. "What the hell, Kenzi? Did you not hear what I said?"

Kenzi groaned and righted herself, sitting on the edge of the couch and leaning against the armrest for support. "Seriously, you both don't feel like you were run over by a truck a few dozen times?" the human moaned, holding her head in her hands as though it were going to fall off when she saw Bo's eyes.

"Kenzi," Bo growled.

"Dude, your eyes are all blue and succubus-y. Have you been like getting busy with the blonde bombshell in the twenty-two seconds we've been here?"

"_Kenzi_!" Bo snapped.

"All right already! _Yes!_ I heard you, Bo-Bo. I couldn't miss it even if I wanted to, which I did, FYI, because you still _don't get it_! I go where you go and you don't get to decide something is too dangerous for me because it's MY DAMN RIGHT to choose!"

The succubus groaned. "God dammit, Kenz. If anything happens to you.."

"Look. I know you're like majorly freaked I'll get hurt. I get that. But listen to me, Bo, and listen closely. I get scared about you too; like, what if something happens to you that I could have prevented had I been by your side? How could I live with myself knowing I let you down when it mattered most?"

Bo half laughed, half cried as she lovingly caressed her best friend's cheek. "You could never let me down, Kenzi." She pulled the human in for a hug. "You just keep being you, alright?"

Tamsin smiled bittersweetly as a memory she shared with her Bo came to the forefront of her mind. What's so great about Kenzi? She had asked. Bo struggled to put her emotions into words. "_She's...she's Kenzi. She's smart, and honest, and kind, and she makes me feel normal and special, all at the same time_," the succubus looked up and met her eyes. "_She is my heart, Tamsin_."

There might have been a lot of differences between the world she had just visited and the one she had just returned to, but the friendship between the unaligned fae and her human was apparently a constant, the valkyrie mused as she looked around and wondered if perhaps they had accidentally been transported to a world generated by the mind of J.R.R. Tolkien.

"I hate to interrupt your moment, ladies, but we seemed to have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque," Tamsin remarked sardonically. Bo turned and looked at her questioningly and the valkyrie elaborated. "Or did you miss the fact we appear to be standing in Frodo Baggins living room?" the blonde gestured around the room.

Kenzi and Bo grinned knowingly. "An easy mistake to make, mi amiga valkyrie; one I made myself when I first saw this place."

"This is Trick's living quarters," Bo clarified.

"Ah. So...maybe we're in the right place after all?"

"Our odds are lookin' pretty good, TamTam," Kenzi quipped as she headed for the door. "Onward and upward, Team Valkubus!"

Both fae women grabbed her arms and turned her around, each wearing a confused expression.

"Team Valkubus?" Bo puzzled.

"Valkyrie, Succubus," Kenzi pointed to them in turn, "equals Team Valk-ubus. Get it? It's like your Brangelina!"

The succubus played along. "Hold on. Why exactly does blondie here get top billing?"

"Think about it for a second, Bo-Bo. A name like Team Succkyrie doesn't inspire much confidence, no?"

"Besides," Tamsin smirked, "I'm always on top."

"I haven't seen any evidence of that. Yet," Bo grinned unrepentantly and the blonde blanched. Each stared deeply into the other's eyes and relived their previous encounters with each other, up to and including their most recent entanglement on Trick's floor, all of which ended with the valkyrie being topped by the passionate succubus.

"I hate to interrupt your moment, ladies," Kenzi repeated Tamsin's words and tone from a few moments ago as she felt the intensity in the air jump several notches, "but we gots shit to do, yo!"

They were about to turn and head up the stairs when they all heard a gasp.

"Kenzi? _Oh my God_, it is you!" Trick rushed into his study and embraced the stunned human, who looked at her companions.

"This is not the Trick I know," Kenzi whispered emphatically, her eyes wide.

"No, it isn't," Tamsin confirmed, as the Blood King noticed the presence of the two other women. His eyes were bright with tears when he turned to his granddaughter.

"Isabeau," he croaked through a throat tight with emotion as he approached an alternate version of his daughter's only child and held onto her tightly. Bo returned his embrace, moved by his uncharacteristic display of emotions. How horrible things must have been for him lately; she couldn't even begin to imagine.

Trick pulled back and reined in his emotions as he turned to Tamsin. "You were successful," he observed unnecessarily.

"Was there any doubt?" the valkyrie smirked.

"Well, now that you mention it, yes there was. Especially with how you just seemed to disappear all the sudden without a trace several weeks ago," the Blood King replied honestly.

Tamsin misunderstood what he was referring and figured he must have been surprised with how the mirror operated, which she noted had been moved. "I see you took the mirror out of the bar," she gestured to where it was now sitting.

"It seemed like a good idea. Having an artifact that dated back several thousand years would have generated a little more talk than we thought was wise," the bar keeper informed. "Especially since we were trying to make it seem as though nothing were out of the ordinary."

"Don't worry, Trickster. _Team Valkubus_ is here and is on the case!" Kenzi enthused as she led them all up to the bar.

"Team..._Valkubus_?"

"Don't ask," Tamsin and Bo droned simultaneously.

* * *

_And now for reader feedback! :) _

_Thank you to those who have taken the time to write a response. It is much appreciated. As a writer, you never know how an idea you have will be received...so thank you for the encouragement!_

_**GvMeOneResn:** I wanted to parallel our Lost Girl world as much as possible pre-Dawning episode so that things wouldn't be too confusing what with the two realities and all. The only key difference is that I have Lauren breaking up with Bo earlier in both realities because she should have figured out sooner that the relationship was not going to work out for a whole lot of reasons. Not that I don't understand why she held on for so long, because, well, duh. ;)_

_**MistressDarkness:** I LURVE Kenzi. She is so fun to write for and a perpetual favorite of mine. The only reason she's like tied for first now for me as favorite is because I love valkyries so very much and well, Tamsin rocks. :) And I feel that for Bo, it would be more meaningful to know she killed Kenzi...that some version of her did. Even while she was dating Lauren, she told Tamsin that Kenzi was her heart. So to know that there is a place where a version of her killed that which connected her with her humanity I feel would devastate our favorite succubus. Here's a spoiler...she'll play a very significant role in what lies ahead...but then, Kenzi is I think the unspoken hero of the show. Everyone focuses on Bo, but without Kenzi, she would not have survived the first episode. Or the second. ;) And ramble away! I love reading reviews._


	17. The More Things Change

Trick wordlessly reached for a bottle on the top shelf and poured them all generously filled glasses. Bo and Kenzi's eyes made contact with each other and both knew instinctively not to make a point of Trick pulling out the good stuff for them.

The human, however, couldn't stop herself from noticing that the valkyrie had yet again seated herself far enough away from the succubus as to be obvious. She elbowed Bo to point it out to as well, but it was unnecessary. The brunette had already taken note of the valkyrie's seating choice.

"This is getting to be an unpleasant habit of hers," she noted disapprovingly to her human friend.

"Perhaps you should, you know, ask her about it when things settle down a little bit," the human advised. Bo was about to respond when Trick returned from his back room with yet another top shelf bottle for their use and a worried expression on his face.

"Doesn't look like that's going to be happening for some time, Kenz," Bo pointed out as the Blood King made his way back over to them.

"I imagine Tamsin told you why she went for you," Trick began and the two visitors nodded. "I guess it doesn't matter how close our worlds are generally speaking; but I do need to know if you've already been through your Dawning."

"Passed it with flying colors," the succubus reported.

"And no dong," Kenzi whispered to herself, but loud enough for Bo to hear and elbow her in the ribs.

"There were several differences," Tamsin informed them all, "but I was sent to a world where Bo would be strong enough to face what awaits us."

"You were '_sent_'?" Trick repeated. "Do I wanna know by whom?"

Tamsin closed her eyes, frustrated she'd have to repeat her spiel yet again when Bo intervened. "Let me see if I remember correctly. Trick, you already know who it is; it's the Wanderer, who has some yet-to-be-specified interest in me. Yes, Tamsin knows how dangerous he is but truly believes that regardless of what is motivations are, he thinks my being here will some how fix things for this world," the succubus finished with an unapologetically smug expression. "How'd I do?"

Tamsin grinned back. "Not too shabby, succulette."

Trick was about to tell the three of them the bad news of what had taken place since the valkyrie embarked on her mission, but was interrupted when a figure entered the Dal, a look of shock gracing his features. "KENZI!" The siren rushed over and pulled the immobilized human to himself, embracing her and cradling her head to his shoulder. "Oh my God, Kenzi, you're okay!"

Before she had a chance to correct him, the acting Ash's mouth came crashing down on hers, causing her mind to short circuit. A part of her knew she needed to tell him who she was but, DAMN this boy could kiss. Kenzi allowed the tender exchange to continue and melted into the embrace until finally he pulled away, shuddering, with tears streaking down his cheeks. "I thought...I thought..." the siren stuttered, unable to think clearly enough to finish his sentence. He exhaled sharply and tried again, focusing his total attention on the beautiful face his hands were gently cradling. "I should have told you how I felt but I was too chickenshit. If you had truly died without knowing the truth..."

"Hale," Trick's voice rang out authoritatively, and the siren turned and noticed Tamsin and Bo sitting at the bar looking slightly embarrassed for intruding on a personal moment; and Hale recognized that these two other people should not be there, just like Kenzi, who could not be there...unless...

The siren turned disbelieving eyes back on the woman in his arms, who looked at him with a flurry of emotions shading her expression...sadness, love, despair, longing. And Hale knew the truth. This wasn't his Kenzi after all. He pulled away, embarrassed by his uncharacteristic display of his feelings and the human knew she had to act fast.

"I'm not her, Hale, and yet I am. If your Kenzi felt half of what I do, then I _promise_ you...with everything in my heart...she loved you too," Kenzi comforted, knowing what she said was true and was finally willing to acknowledge publicly what had been hidden in her heart for so long. She caressed his cheek lovingly, willing him to understand. To believe.

Hale closed his eyes and chose to believe. He knew at some point this would more than likely blow up in his face as Kenzi, this Kenzi, would be forced to go back to her own world and he'd be left alone but he just couldn't muster up the will to care.

Kenzi knew he loved her, and what's more, she loved him back. That was enough for him for now.

"Hale," Trick called out a second time. He hated to interrupt this moment for him, knowing how deeply wounded the siren was when they all found out their Kenzi hadn't survived Bo's attack several weeks back. But they had too much to discuss and not a lot of time to prepare for what was to come. "I haven't had a chance to bring them up to speed on things, on what's been happening since you disappeared, Tamsin."

"Wow, that sounds both disturbing and ominous," Kenzi remarked drolly.

"As it should," the Blood King replied solemnly. "It would seem that someone has captured the underfae Bo."

"Captured?" Bo reiterated. "You mean the one reason Kenzi and I traveled from another reality has already been resolved? Easiest mission yet and I didn't even have to lift a finger."

"Uh, I doubt it's quite that cut and dry, succubus," Tamsin warned. "What aren't you saying, Trick?"

"Well fuck me sideways with a bloody corkscrew," a voice echoed from the entrance of the Dal and all eyes turned to the source. "You actually did it?"

Bo and Kenzi regarded the man, who looked a lot more like Vex than the more housebroken one from their reality. This Vex was as wild and untamed as his hair, and his makeup and 100% studded black leather outfit completed the look.

"You know, I'm starting to get the impression that you all lacked faith in my ability to get the job done," the valkyrie commented wryly.

"Well do you bloody well blame us? What with you zipping off into nothingness like you did."

Tamsin considered carrying on with her fellow dark fae associate, but she needed to know what the Blood King did about the capture of underfae Bo. "So let's have it, bar keeper. Which side has her?"

"That's the thing. I don't know. No one does. The light most certainly does not have her, at least not officially."

"As acting Ash, I did what I could to keep people from knowing what happened at Bo's Dawning. The story I told was that Aife had returned and she was the one who tore the place up," Hale informed them.

"That would explain the intel I got," Trick murmured. Bo and the others all turned the attention to him and he sighed. He hadn't wanted to go into this now. "I've been keeping an eye out for my daughter ever since you fought her a few years ago. She recently popped up on my radar..."

"You mean _fae_-dar," Kenzi supplied helpfully. The Blood King ignored her.

"...and I've been tracking not only her whereabouts but those who have been after her. That number has increased sharply over the last month or so."

"That actually may partially be my doing as well. I told the Morrigan roughly the same story Hale told his people. I guess she took the bait," the valkyrie added.

"That doesn't shed any light on who captured the underfae me though," Bo frowned.

"I can't shed any light, but I might be able to shed a little dark on it," Vex responded. "I did a little checking on who might have taken the demon succubus and my investigation led me to a somewhat disturbing discovery." The entire room was unsettled by the mesmer's remark since no one there knew exactly what Vex could possibly find disturbing given his tastes in, well, everything.

"It would seem the trail led me to a nice little out of the way spot in the Sahara Desert. And by nice I mean hotter than fucking hell," the mesmer editorialized.

"So, what, we have to break into this out of the way to capture the me with horns and do what exactly?" Bo was confused, as was everyone else.

"It's not quite so simple, love," Vex replied. "Where the demon succuBo is being held has turned into a muster point of sorts. Fae from all over the world, light and dark are gathering there as we speak. If I had to place a wager, I'd say what I saw was the formation of an army."

"An army of fae," Trick emphasized. "Well, that certainly would be Aife's style."

"And you're certain it's not her? It's not my mother?"

"As certain as I can be about anything, Bo. There's no way she could coordinate something of that magnitude without me knowing something," the Blood King assured. But Bo was disturbed about what he said nonetheless. She'd have to give some thought about it later on when she had a chance. "That's not to say she wouldn't be drawn to it like...like..."

"Like Bo to a ménage à fae?"

"Kenzi!" Bo chided, but then her expression went from embarrassed to dreamlike in five seconds flat and Tamsin was amused by what she read on the brunette's features. It's almost too easy to rile up a succubus.

"So to summarize, we need to travel to and infiltrate an army of light and dark fae, find an out-of-control underfae succubus and whisk her away without anyone knowing. Does that about sum it up?" Hale asked wryly.

"Not exactly. We also have to figure out who's powerful enough to gather such an army and tame the out-of-control underfae succubus in the first place, and possibly deal with him or her in the bargain," Trick corrected.

"And here I thought it was gonna be a challenge," Kenzi reached for the bottle of the good stuff and poured herself a tumbler full and gulped it down quickly, coughing and choking as it hit her hard.

"Piece o' cake," she wheezed.

* * *

_Reader feedback time! :)_

_**MistressDarkness:** No worries about rambling. I love interacting! It was very difficult to write certain moments. Killing Kenzi off early was important for certain plot/character moments but it was just really difficult to write as were several moments in the very angsty chapters to come, starting with 18. /spoiler! ;)_


	18. Prevailing Wisdom

**A/N: Things are about to get really angsty; so I figured I'd start this chapter with a little levity which came to my mind as a result of Rachel Skarsten's appreciation for (or should I say obsession with) her mustaching app. So I totally blame her and you should too. ;)**

* * *

"Did you receive my reservation orders?" Hale asked the annoyingly perky travel agent.

"Yes indeed, I have it right here," she held up the piece of paper with the seal of the Ash prominently visible at the top. "And you will receive the best service we offer. Once your number is called, of course."

Trick and Hale eyed her strangely and then looked around at the mostly empty waiting room. Other than two men standing over to the side, they were the only ones there.

"S'alright, guys. I got this," Bo reached over and pulled a stub from the dispenser and Bashira Falak Manar, also known as "Peggy" smiled blankly and clicked the number counter up one digit.

"Serving number 23?" Peggy asked, as though the room were packed. The succubus smiled indulgently and handed her the stub.

Several feet behind her, Tamsin was watching her human friend give strange looks to the men on the other side of the room. She could tell Kenzi was more than a little tipsy from all the booze she indulged in at the Dal. She walked over to her, her arms crossed in front of her chest and leaned in to speak to her.

"Whatcha looking at, squirt?" the valkyrie startled the girl who had not heard her sneak up on her.

"Those guys," Kenzi replied, gesturing emphatically.

Tamsin waited, figuring there'd be more but when Kenzi didn't elaborate she pressed her for details.

"What about them?"

"They don't have mustaches," she explained as though reason were self-explanatory. It wasn't.

"Yeah? And? Lots of guys don't have mustaches, half pint."

Kenzi gazed at her as though the valkyrie were slow and explained. "We're in an _alternate reality_. A DARK alternate reality where horrible things happen. The laws of science fiction and supernatural television shows are VERY CLEAR that the women usually wear skimpy outfits and the men all have mustaches."

"All the men?"

Kenzi's gestures became more emphatic. "It's SCIENCE."

Tamsin stifled a giggle. Oh, this was too easy. "You know, Kenzi, I noticed in your reality that Hale had a mustache, so did Trick and Dyson and, _oh my God_, even Vex."

The human wasn't getting what she was hinting at and her expression confirmed it. The valkyrie leaned forward and went in for the kill.

"Have you considered that, rather than visiting a dark alternate reality, maybe you're actually FROM the dark alternate reality?"

Kenzi's eyes were wide as saucers when Hale made his way over to her, confused by the look of horror on her face as she looked at him. "Everything alright over here?"

"Everything's fine, Hale," Tamsin grinned unrepentantly.

"Ah okay, well if everything's fine, what's wrong with her?" the acting Ash pressed.

"You have a mustache," Kenzi answered, slightly panicked. "Mustaches are EVIL."

The human noticed the amused expression the valkyrie was doing a horrible job hiding and Hale's puzzled eyes staring at her, wondering if she cracked somewhere along the way since they left the Dal.

Kenzi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It is entirely possible that I may have drunk just a little bit more than was wise," she admitted, swooning a little before Tamsin grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Easy, short stack."

"You have got to be kidding me!" a voice boomed from the other side of the waiting room attracting their attention. "Kenzi is coming and_ that's final_!"

Tamsin, Hale and a still somewhat woozy human made their way back over to where Bo was arguing heatedly with Peggy.

"What seems to be the problem?" Hale intervened.

Trick answered, sparing his granddaughter the aggravation. "Peggy is saying we can't take Kenzi along with us. Something about humans not being permitted to travel the fae way."

"She don't give much love to dark fae neither," Vex grumbled from where he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed defiantly in front of his chest.

"Humans are simply not meant to travel this way. You know, I hesitate to use the word 'unsafe,'" Peggy air quoted, "because safety is relative after all...but still. Humans are generally too fragile and after that one exploded a few decades ago..."

"EXPLODED?" Kenzi interrupted. "You mean like, '_kaboom_'?"

"Actually when humans blow up they generally sound like '_kersplat_', wouldn't you agree, Vex?" Tamsin replied, forcing her tone to remain serious despite the almost overwhelming urge to laugh at the adorably freaked out expression on the human's face.

"That's been my experience on the topic," the mesmer played along.

"All right you two, no one's going to be blowing up anytime soon," Bo chided, fighting the smile trying to make an appearance on her face as she turned back to Peggy in all seriousness. "She's coming. What do I have to do to make it happen?"

"Well, it's up to you," the travel agent relented disapprovingly and reached down for a stack of papers. "But you will be required to sign these documents. The standard accident forms, of course, but also this extended injury/death indemnity waiver. After that, whatever happens to your human is on your hands," she warned as Bo's eyes shot daggers at her and then the succubus signed and initialed in all the places Peggy indicated.

"So...what happens now?" Kenzi asked, still more than a little nervous at the prospect of going either 'kaboom' or 'kersplat.' Neither option sounded all that appealing.

Tamsin leaned in and ribbed her. "Close your eyes and hold on to your designer spiked heels, shortie. The ride gets bumpy from here."

An instant later, they were in the Sahara Desert, with nothing visible but caves off into the distance. The intense temperature change caused Kenzi to wobble but Tamsin was still right beside her and she lightly grasped her shoulders to provide some stability. Bo walked over to them as Kenzi finally opened her eyes, amazed that she was no longer in an air conditioned travel agency waiting room but rather was on the other side of the planet in a thoroughly inhospitable climate and thrilled she had arrived intact.

"You okay, Kenz?" Bo asked, concern etching her features.

"A-okay, Bo-Bo. However, I am totes rethinking this ensemble," she gestured toward herself. "If I had realized it was going to be this...hot..."

"You knew we were going to the Sahara Desert. What did you think it would be like?" Hale teased.

"Balmy. Tropical. Summery. Not..."

"I believe the phrase you're scraping for is '_hotter than fucking hell_,'" Vex reminded her of the description he gave of this location when they were at the Dal. He at least was better prepared this time, having stripped down to black leather short shorts and a black leather vest.

And nothing else.

"Forget the heat," Trick fussed. "What about the location? I don't see any army around here."

"Well it's not like we wanted to be dropped in the middle of camp, Trickster," Tamsin answered. "We need to be far enough away so that our approach isn't noticed."

"Which is why we'll be staying the day in those caves," the mesmer pointed, "and travel at night when it's cooler."

"Cooler," Kenzi panted, having already removed at least two layers of clothing. She was running out of what could be taken off and remain decent. "Cooler would be fab. So, hey, by any chance did any of you all pack a bikini?"

* * *

_/ one reality over /_

"Number, please," Peggy requested sunnily of the four men in her otherwise completely vacant waiting area.

"Don't," Dyson snarled.

"Temper, temper," the agent chided disapprovingly.

"We don't have time for games! There's no one else here, why don't you just..."

Hale moved forward and intervened. "I got this, buddy." He reached up and grabbed a stub from the dispenser as Peggy ticked her 'now serving' number up by one.

"Number 78," the travel agent informed them with a blank smile.

Hale grinned tightly and gave her the stub.

"So, the acting Ash, a light fae wolf, a dark fae mesmer and..." Peggy regarded the Blood King, not wanting to indicate she knew his true identity. "A light fae way station manager. All traveling together. Bet there's an interesting story there."

For a moment, Dyson considered telling this annoying woman about the urgent intelligence they had just received about a gathering army of light and dark fae and their mission to infiltrate and neutralize what could only be a major threat to all fae and humans alike just for the pleasure of watching her wet herself.

No, no._ Bad wolf._

Trick noticed Dyson's expression and interpreted it correctly. He frowned at him chidingly and moved to the counter to address the woman. "There is. But we don't have time to go into details right now. Could you please..."

But Trick wasn't able to complete his sentence as an instant later, they were all in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

"Let's head to those caves," Trick advised the others. "We're better off traveling at night when there will be less chance of us getting caught."

The others agreed and they pressed forward.

"Wow, that was something," Hale was impressed with the method of travel, in spite of how irritating the woman had been.

"Too bad it's hotter than fucking hell out here," the wolf growled.

"Took the words right outta my mouth, mate," Vex agreed as they made their way to the caves.

* * *

_/ back to the first reality /_

Kenzi had long since sobered up and had been dealing with a monster headache when Hale came over to her and _siren_ed it away causing the human, not for the first time, to seriously consider marrying the acting Ash.

"That is quite a gift you've got there, mister," she smiled softly, and was about to say more when she noticed Bo's scowl from across the cave. "Pardon moi. Looks like I'm on bestie duty tonight."

Hale looked over and noticed Bo's countenance as well. "S'okay, Kenz. We'll meet up later on." He caressed her cheek as he walked by her and Kenzi's heart clenched a little at his tender expressions of his feelings for her.

"So..." she began as she made her way over to Bo. "What be shakin', Bo-bolicious?"

"Notice something missing?" the succubus mumbled.

Kenzi looked around. "You're talking about the fact that we seem to be shy one valkyrie _slash_ blonde bombshell, I'll wager." Bo's sour expression confirmed it. "I saw her heading outside earlier. Why don't you go after her and see what's going on with her?"

"I don't know that I want to know," Bo responded sadly. "What if...what if it's all in my head? You know? What if it's only on my end and she doesn't...like...feel anything."

"Ha," Kenzi snorted.

"My track record hasn't been too stellar the last few years. Or _ever_, actually," the succubus sighed.

"Look, this chica learned a long time ago not to make promises about what someone else does or does not feel, especially where you're concerned. But my money is on her having the hots for you too."

"I don't want to force her to talk to me if she doesn't want to," the succubus sulked.

"Oh my God, are you _kidding me_? That's _exactly_ when to force peeps to talk!" Kenzi advised. "She's alone, Bo-Bo. She's got a lot on her plate right now what with all the reality shifting and all and I'll bet you dollars to chocolate glazed donuts with rainbow sprinkles on top that spending time with you is _exactly_ what the doctor ordered."

Bo looked up at Kenzi and the human almost smacked herself in the forehead for her stupidity. Bringing up doctors meant bringing up thoughts of Lauren, which always made Bo sad. "Okay well, not all doctors, but nine out of ten at least. And who cares what that tenth doctor thinks anyway since he doesn't recommend flossing or chewing sugar free gum like the other nine?"

The succubus's brow furrowed. "The _tenth doctor_? _Who_?"

Kenzi ignored her question and pressed her case. "You want to go talk to her, Bo, and it'll make you feel better; so go do it!"

Bo grinned tremulously but slightly more relaxed. "Maybe you're right, Kenz."

"Of course I'm right! I'm always right. So go turn that succu-frown upside down and sack yo'self a valkyrie, baby!"

Bo shook her head and smiled indulgently as she headed for the entrance of the cave. A quick look around revealed the valkyrie sitting out of the way on a large boulder, looking wistfully at the stars above. Her expression almost broke Bo's heart and she wondered what she was thinking about that could possibly make her so..._lost_.

"Penny for your thoughts," Bo commented by way of announcing her presence.

"What's up, succubus?" Tamsin smiled down, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"That's what I was about to ask you," the brunette grunted as she climbed up the side of the rock and sat next to the blonde.

"How about you go first, Bo?" Tamsin deflected, deftly avoiding the conversation she wasn't quite prepared to have yet. "Something's been bothering you since we were at the Dal."

Bo was confused. "I don't know what..."

"It has to do with your mother," the valkyrie interrupted. "Your expression changed when Trick was talking about her. Something about what he said made you upset."

The succubus sighed. "It wasn't what he said. It was what he knew." She turned to face the blonde. "He knew where she was. He's been tracking her for years and he hasn't once bothered to tell me. I had a right to know about this, Tamsin!"

"Maybe...maybe your Trick doesn't know where she is. Maybe he's not tracking her," the valkyrie replied even as Bo was shaking her head.

"No. No I don't buy it. There are enough similarities between our realities to make me think that my Trick did know and just didn't tell me about it. Which brings up the question of what else does he know and isn't telling me?"

Tamsin blanched, knowing the truth of Bo's declaration, not only on Trick's behalf but her own, and tried to cover for her discomfort. "Maybe he's trying to protect you," she looked down and mumbled almost subvocally. But the succubus heard her anyway.

"Dammit, Tamsin, do you know how many horrible things have happened in my life just because people have lied to me 'for my own good'?" she air quoted.

The valkyrie looked away. "Sometimes it's better for everyone involved to not know the truth."

Bo looked at her friend and wondered if they were talking about the same thing. She suspected the answer was no.

"So what is your truth, Tamsin?" the succubus prodded.

Tamsin turned her head sharply toward Bo. "What?"

"You keep avoiding me. At the club house. At the Dal. At the travel agency. Here," she gestured around them. "You keep trying to find ways to put distance between us. Why?"

The valkyrie cleared her throat awkwardly and jumped off the boulder. "I think you've got a pretty fertile imagination, succubus," she prevaricated. But Bo saw through the act and jumped down to stand in front of her, blocking her path.

"No, I don't think I do," she replied soothingly as she gently brushed the valkyrie's cheek with her fingertips. "You wanna know what I think? I think there's something happening between us that maybe you don't want to face right now for whatever reason."

Tamsin closed her eyes at the gentle touch, unconsciously leaning into it. The succubus watched her aura spike and pressed her advantage.

"I also think that we'd never get to explore what that something is if it were just up to you," Bo whispered leaning forward, her lips almost touching the valkyrie's. "Fortunately for me, it isn't just up to you, now is it?"

The valkyrie couldn't bear the tension in the air and gave in faster than she would have believed about herself, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against Bo's.

The succubus responded with abandon and pulled the blonde tightly against her body as the passion quickly ramped to new heights. Bo used her tongue to open the valkyrie's lips and groaned at the delicious heat of Tamsin's mouth. She leaned into her, forcing the valkyrie's body against the boulder behind her and continued her tender yet passionate assault, pushing gentle pulses of erotic bliss into the blonde as the kiss continued for long minutes.

Each pulled their mouths away at the same moment, the need for oxygen forcing the separation; yet they remained in each other's arms.

Tamsin's head was spinning from the pleasure but she was clear headed enough to realized something. "You didn't feed just now," she whispered as her fingernails gently scraped the brunette's scalp.

Bo's eyes slowly opened, revealing they were glowing bright blue. She leaned in for another quick but loving kiss and then leaned back in the valkyrie's arms. "I don't want you to think I only see you as a feed, Tamsin."

"But...but you need..." Tamsin began but was interrupted by yet another one of Bo's delicious kisses and felt herself melt further into the brunette.

"I know what I need. Believe me. And your chi is by far the best I've other tasted," the brunette smiled and punctuated her thought by lightly licking the lips of the valkyrie, who gasped softly at the sensation. "But I meant what I said. You are more than a just a feed to me. So much more."

The succubus rested her forehead against the valkyrie's as she opened her heart. "You're so brave...there's such a nobility about you that you don't even see in yourself. You have a wicked sense of humor," she grinned and felt more than saw Tamsin grin with her. "I love seeing you tease Kenzi like a younger sister."

She stared at her, her blue eyes glimmering in adoration. "And you're so beautiful, you make my heart ache just looking at you. Your eyes..." Bo interrupted her own thought and kissed the blonde again because she just had to. "Look, I don't know what's happening between us; but I do know that I want to find out, if you're willing."

The succubus leaned forward again and poured all her emotions into the kiss; and the valkyrie was overwhelmed by the joy she felt, a rarely experienced emotion for her in any of her many lifetimes, and the elation that the object of her affections returned her feelings. But the moment was short lived.

She couldn't move forward in any capacity with Bo and she was kidding herself to have ever entertained the possibility. There was just too much there standing between them, the least of which...

Tamsin sighed internally and pulled away. "I have to tell you something, Bo," she whispered against her lips.

"Shh. No talk now. Talk later," the succubus interrupted and kissed her again, pushing wave after wave of erotic pleasure throughout the valkyrie's body as she sucked on her tongue and Tamsin was tempted just to let this go. To just wait a little while longer.

But she just...couldn't.

_Dammit_.

The valkyrie forcefully pulled her head away and grasped Bo's head. "_Bo_," she tried again, this time with more intensity, "the Wanderer is your father."

* * *

Kenzi puttered around the large cave, looking into the various pseudo rooms and organizing what little goods she and Bo had brought with them before finally giving up and heading for the entrance of the cave in search of her friend. There was only so much busy work a human could do when her favorite fae was off saying or doing who knows what and possibly getting her heart shattered yet again.

She almost made it outside when Bo stormed past her, followed by an equally agitated valkyrie.

"Okay, so I guess I'll go outside and you know, stargaze...or something," Kenzi lamely gestured toward the entrance and made her way there when Bo spun around and flashed angry brown eyes at Tamsin.

"How long have you known that the Wanderer is my father?" Bo growled.

"Or I could sit right over here. Out of the way. Quiet as a mouse," Kenzi whispered as she lowered herself to sit on a rock. The human was experiencing a serious case of déjà vu as the conversation brought her back to a moment in time a few years ago when Bo confronted Dyson for not telling her about her mother.

Tamsin sighed, already having decided to tell Bo as much as she could without risking too much of herself. "I found out right after Brazenwood."

Kenzi had no idea what a Brazenwood was but apparently the succubus did. "I'm not talking about before you lost your memory, Tamsin. I'm talking about since you started remembering. How long?"

The valkyrie exhaled sharply, knowing this would not be well received. "The Dal. Right before we traveled to this reality."

Bo was flabbergasted. "And all this time you knew and you didn't say anything? HOW COULD YOU?!"

"I didn't want to upset you, Bo, and knowing wouldn't have changed anything about what we were supposed to do," the valkyrie explained weakly.

"Like I didn't have a right to know it was my father who ordered you to be tortured and killed?" the succubus was incensed. "Let me guess. It was for my own good, right? You were just protecting me, _RIGHT_?"

"Perhaps. At first," the blonde's voice softened. "But what you said earlier, about people lying to you for your own good. I realized I was guilty of it too and I had to make that right." The valkyrie looked up at Bo with sorrowful green eyes. "You did and do have a right to know those things and decide for yourself what to do about it and I was wrong for going along and keeping it a secret."

"Going along," Bo repeated. Then it hit her. "Trick knows too, doesn't he?"

The valkyrie didn't respond and looked down and away from the furious brunette.

"_DAMMIT_! And who else knows about this? Who else knows about my father?" the succubus growled as she grabbed Tamsin's shoulders angrily.

"That's not my truth to tell, Bo," the blonde replied, and Bo could see that there was more.

"What else, then, Tamsin? What other truths are yours to tell?"

The valkyrie shook her head. She just couldn't. "It doesn't matter. Not now. Not anymore."

"What, more lies for my own good? Didn't you just say you regretted that? Or was that a lie too, about being wrong about trying to protect me from the truth?"

Tamsin finally lost her temper. "This isn't about protecting you, Bo! This is about protecting_ me_!"

Bo pulled away as though struck and scoffed at her. "Protecting _you_? Well that's just goddamn fabulous, TamTam." She took a few steps back and regarded the valkyrie derisively. "No really. You go right on ahead and do that. And if you ever finally do pull your head out of your ass, you know where to find me."

Bo spun around and flew out of the cave with Kenzi hot on her heels.

Tamsin took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to compose herself.

"Well that was a bloody disaster, I must say," Vex stated by way of announcing his presence.

"Go away, Vex," the valkyrie groaned. "I don't have the energy to deal with you right now."

"No I should say not, especially after that little display outside. That thing you did with your tongue; I remember that all too well. Did that make the succubus's toes curl like it did mine all those decades ago?"

Tamsin sighed. She would never live that down, would she?

"But that's not what has your knickers in a twist, now is it? It's the secret you're keeping from Bo about your _special deal_ with her Daddy."

The valkyrie's attention shot to the mesmer's smug expression and she angrily lunged at him. "Where did you hear about that? What do you know?"

The mesmer laughed. "I have ears all over the place, love. It didn't take long to put the pieces together either, given your...terminal state of affairs. You traded Bo for regeneration, didn't you?"

Tamsin exhaled sharply. It sounded so much worse hearing it spoken aloud. "I didn't know Bo back then! She was just a skip! And he's the only one..."

"...with the power to reboot your life cycles so that you can continue on for another few thousand years. Yeah I know."

"Yes. But she can't. Not ever," Tamsin snarled. "If you breathe one word of this, I SWEAR I will rip off your testicles and shove them down your throat."

The mesmer tsked. "Threatening my junk again? What is it with women these days?" He pulled away from the angry valkyrie and headed away from her and toward the entrance of the cave. "You have my word, she won't hear it from me. But you should really reconsider not telling her, especially if you care about her like I know you do."

"Thanks for the advice, _dear Abby_," Tamsin gibed impatiently.

"I'm serious, Tamsin," and for once the mesmer was. "Give her the chance to decide for herself what it all means. You owe it to her and you owe it to yourself. And that's enough sappy shit from me to last another century at least."

He grinned wickedly and left.

Tamsin stood alone in the cave, with only her thoughts to keep her company.

"I'm not brave, Bo," Tamsin muttered to herself morosely, "and I'm sure as shit not noble."

She was obscenely glad that while Bo was angry with her for being lied to, she didn't hate her from knowing the whole truth.

* * *

"Wait, wait. Hold your unicorn ponies, Bo-Bo," Kenzi grabbed the furious succubus.

"Trick knew about my father, Kenzi. And I'll bet he's not alone either. Does Hale know? Vex?" Bo turned angry eyes on her friend. "Did you know about this?"

"Me? WHAT? Of course I didn't know! What the_ actual _hell, Bo?!" Kenzi exclaimed, pulling her hand back as though she had been burned.

"You've kept secrets from me before when you thought it was for my own good, Kenzi," Bo reminded her. "It's not that much of a stretch."

"The HELL it isn't! You don't think I learned my lesson from what happened with Kyle's sister? Having you angry at me like that just about killed me!"

Bo closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "Alright. You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have questioned you like that."

"No, you sure as shit shouldn't have. If anyone's got your back, Bo, you KNOW it's me. Always!" Kenzi was hurt and angry but at the same time she knew that this was one particular betrayal her best friend had encountered too many times in her life; and as Bo reminded her, even she had been guilty of it once upon a time. She calmed herself and focused on Bo, who she saw was truly remorseful for what she had said and still confused and dismayed by everyone keeping something so vital from her. By Tamsin, damn her.

"You have a right to be upset, Bo-Bo. I don't blame you for that. But hear me out on this. Going after Trick right now won't help anything. It won't solve anything. It'll just distract you from what you need to do."

She could tell she had Bo's attention and took advantage of the fact she had a willing audience. "So how about we wait until we're done with this particular crisis and then go kick his ass," she grinned to show all was forgiven between them. "Alright? I'll even hold him down while you beat the ever lovin' blood sage snot out of him."

Bo smiled back. "You're right. Of course you're right. I'll put my game face on until we deal with this mess, and then his ass is mine."

They shared a brief sideways hug as they returned to their "room" in the spacious cave. Bo and Kenzi glanced outside and noticed Tamsin was out there again, sitting on her boulder and looking up at the stars. As though she sensed someone was watching her, the valkyrie looked down and sorrowful green eyes met furious brown. She refocused her attention onto Kenzi and noticed her small human friend glowering at her as well. Each woman turned away of their own accord.

Each with heavy hearts.

And with the weight of the world on their collective shoulders.


	19. The Gathering Storm

**A/N: The angst continues and builds...and Bo does something controversial. But don't worry, peeps. There's a reason for it all. :)**

* * *

"Shit," the mesmer grumbled as the view he saw through his binoculars was less than encouraging. He sighed loudly to himself and made his way back down the hill to the rest of his quickly cobbled together team. The fate of the world rests on our heads.

He'd blow this joint if he thought he could get away with it; but the last thing he wanted to deal with was a ticked off succubus, an irritated valkyrie and the bloody Blood King all holding a grudge against him.

_I really shoulda stayed at the Screw._

"Well?" Bo asked, impatient for the details and the opportunity to leave both Tamsin and Trick's company.

"Well," the dark fae man began, "as hopeless as it was the last time I was here, it's exponentially worse now. There are at least three times as many fae down there...and the arena, the facility I saw your underfae self being taken to? It looks like they finally finished construction on that. Meaning, they've got security measures in place that would make any kind of frontal assault nothing short of suicidal."

"We were never intending a frontal assault anyway," Tamsin reminded. "We just don't have the manpower for it. Too risky."

"Right and we don't want to do anything that's risky, TamTam, now do we? After all, protecting you is our main priority in all of this."

The valkyrie glowered at her as most of the others looked on in puzzlement. Obviously some sort of disagreement took place between the women but none of the guys felt it was worth the risk to their hides to get in the middle of whatever it was.

"We should split up," Trick suggested. "Gather intel and meet back here at a set time."

"I agree," Bo chimed in. "Kenzi's with me. The rest of you go do your intel reconnaissance and we'll meet back here in a few hours to fill each other in on what we learn."

"No."

Bo had already turned with Kenzi and was walking away when Tamsin's voice stopped her.

"Excuse me?"

"You two are not going in by yourselves. I'm coming with you as backup."

Kenzi stepped forward and got into the valkyrie's personal space. "Bo and I can handle ourselves just fine without your lying valku-face supposedly watching our perfectly toned backsides; so _hit the curb_, blondie."

If the situation hadn't been so dire, the valkyrie would have laughed at the moxie this little human showed in defense of her best friend. But being how time was an issue, she allowed her strength of will and fire to glimmer brightly in her eyes, a passion and intensity that had been burning for thousands of years. Kenzi was forced to take a step back, overwhelmed by the power in Tamsin's gaze.

"You don't have a say in this peewee, and neither does your succubus friend. I'M GOING. _Likey_ or not."

Bo's eyes radiated fury but she said nothing and stomped off in a huff.

Kenzi gestured that she was keeping her eyes on Tamsin and the blonde rolled her eyes in response.

"It's a good thing you took my advice and cleared the air with SuccuBo," Vex commented drolly.

"Shove it, mesmer," Tamsin growled as she took off after her "team mates".

"Well this day is going to be all kinds of fun," Hale quipped sardonically.

* * *

"I know you want to ignore my presence, Bo, but it's not that simple," the valkyrie stressed.

Bo stopped and turned to face the irritating blonde. "Oh really? WATCH ME. This is me, ignoring your presence." She gestured as she turned back around and kept going.

"Bo, would you grow up? You need to be on your A game now, not sulking like some emo teenager!"

The succubus halted once more, her expression radiating frustration and showcasing her hurt feelings. "You know what's part of growing up? Owning up to things. Clearing the air. Not lying to cover your own ass like some people I know."

"Would you _focus _already! We're about to go into a dangerous, hostile environment and we need to be at our best. You haven't fed in a long time, have you?"

Bo refused to answer, already knowing that the snack she had off of Tamsin's chi when they kissed a couple days ago wasn't nearly enough to sustain her. Not that she'd admit it.

"I'll be fine."

"You are so damn stubborn. No you WON'T be fine! If you're not cranked to eleven, you won't be prepared to take on any of the challenges we're about to face!"

"So what do you propose, TamTam? We let bygones be bygones and what... make out for a while? You want to top off my tank, do you?" the succubus growled.

"I want you at your best, Bo. I want you safe. So whatever I have to do to get you there, then I'll do it, even if it pisses you off right now," Tamsin was hurt by this exchange but she'd be damned if she showed Bo how much. "You need my chi. Put all of our personal shit aside and TAKE IT ALREADY!"

Bo lunged at her and grabbed her head in a significantly less than gentle manner and pulled her behind a tall rock wall.

"You want me to take it so much? FINE. I'll take it." The succubus forced her mouth open by pressing her thumbs against the blonde's cheeks and pulled a long, rich stream of chi out of the valkyrie.

It was agony. There were no gentle, loving exchanges. No tender touches. No kisses or erotic pulses to distract from the loss of her life energy. But the valkyrie held on tightly to Bo's shoulders and willed herself to suppress her instincts so she wouldn't fight back or push her away.

To stay put and endure the pain and allow the succubus to take as much as she needed.

Bo finally broke away now fully charged, her eyes glowing brightly. It was then that she seemed to come back to her senses; and she realized what she had just done as she watched Tamsin gasp and struggle to stay standing.

Kenzi instinctively rushed over to help the valkyrie who was fading in and out of consciousness; and Bo knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had just violated the blonde. It was the closest she had ever come to rape in her entire life and she felt sickened and horrified by her behavior, by how she allowed her anger to color reason and turn Tamsin's willing sacrifice into a means to punish her.

She crouched down and as distressed bright blue eyes met hazy green, she reached out and tenderly caressed Tamsin's cheek. Kenzi was staring at her as though she were a stranger, and Bo felt like she was just like the vicious beast she was tasked to capture. Unfeeling. Cruel.

Monsterous.

"Tamsin," she croaked, her eyes filling rapidly with tears she was unable to prevent from trickling down her cheeks. "I am so, so sorry. I can't believe...I've never done..."

The valkyrie's head was clearing up quickly and she got to her feet, pushing aside the helping hands of both women. "Don't sweat it, ladies. You got what you needed, didn't you? Well? Then mission accomplished. Let's go."

She walked away, shattered by what Bo had just done to her but wearing a perfectly fashioned facade of indifference. _This was why personal feelings were never a good idea for a valkyrie_, she reminded herself coldly.

It just gets in the way of what has to be done.

Kenzi's eyes teared up as she regarded her best friend. She had never seen her behave like that before.

"Whatever you're going to say to me, just say it. Because I'm sure I deserve it and a hell of a lot worse," Bo groaned piteously, self hatred rearing its ugly head again; and her human friend's heart broke for her.

"You think I'm going to read you the riot act and...what...leave you here to deal with this shitstorm alone or something?"

"I don't see why you shouldn't right now," the succubus whispered, refusing to make eye contact with Kenzi as her shame overwhelmed her.

"I've got one really perf reason. Wanna hear it?" the human grinned mischievously, knowing her expression would be contagious.

Her best friend smiled softly through her tear filled eyes, needing to hear whatever Kenzi was about to say. "Go for it."

"It's real simple, actually. Even when you make bad choices or you do the wrong thing or you're acting like a complete_ idiot _sometimes or..."

"I think I got the idea, Kenzi," the succubus grumbled playfully.

The human continued in all seriousness. "I love you with all my heart, Bo. You are closer to me than any blood relation I have and I will _never_ leave you no matter what."

Bo allowed the tears to fall in earnest. "Please...don't ever leave me, Kenz. I'm afraid I'd lose touch with my humanity altogether without you in my life."

"Hmm," the human puzzled. "It seems like you blue-ing your eyes makes you deaf or something because I thought I was pretty clear about the whole leaving you thing," she smirked.

The succubus barked out a laugh and held her best friend closer.

"Oh Bo," the human sighed as she hugged her fae older sister and brought the conversation back to Bo's previous actions. "Obviously you and Tammers have a lot of shit to talk about. But she's right. We have to focus on the here and now. We need to be at our best. So let's set all that other stuff aside and do our thing, okay?"

Bo sniffed, still distressed but knowing Kenzi was right. That Tamsin was right. Tamsin. _Dammit_. "Okay. And I'll figure out a way to make things right with her one way or another after all this is taken care of."

Kenzi grinned supportively at her friend. "Of course you will, Bo-Bo. And I'll be right beside you coming up with awesome schemes to win her back for ya. I gots yo' back, sista."

Bo grinned back but wondered in the back of her mind if it was going to be as easy as Kenzi was making it out to be.

Or if she had just blown it for good with the valkyrie.

* * *

"This has got to be it," Tamsin reported as they approached the main facility. They had stayed out of the more trafficked areas of the compound in case there were fae present who could sense Kenzi's humanity and now they were there, relatively unmolested by passersby.

"Okay so, raise your hand if you think that was a little too easy," Kenzi commented, more than a little wary of her surroundings.

"I don't think there's a problem so far, Kenzi," Tamsin replied succinctly. "We've been in mostly public areas where the access was more general population. From here on out, however, we need to be on guard for anything."

Kenzi looked over at the valkyrie who was taking stock of what security measures she could see from the outside. The human was still upset Tamsin had kept something important from Bo, but at the same time the blonde had willingly volunteered that information and owned up to her mistake in not telling Bo sooner.

And what of the rest of the story? What of the part Tamsin didn't tell them? Holding a grudge certainly won't help them here in an enemy facility where danger lurked behind every corner.

Then there was the fact that Tamsin was still with them in the first place even after Bo had violated her like she did. It was no wonder the blonde was all business and the three were barely on speaking terms. Kenzi sighed internally. She missed the easy banter she had established with the valkyrie. She even missed being called shortie. Bo caught the look in her eye and they shared the loss, each missing the rapport they had established with the standoffish dark fae woman.

"I count two guards each entry way and I can see at least one other security stop within sight of the primary entrance," the valkyrie announced. "Let's take the east entrance, as it's the least guarded entry point. Bo, how about you and I position your human between us to make it more difficult for her to be detected as not fae?"

Bo nodded, her eyes still glowing bright blue. "Let's do it."

They made their way up to the guard post and Bo went to work, touching and purring to each guard, urging them to let the three of women through.

They had barely made their way past the first set of guards when four large men rounded the corner and spotted them.

"Holy smokes bullwinkle," Kenzi blurted out randomly. The succubus was working out how best to take them out when Tamsin intervened. She faced the four men and allowed her true self to emerge. "You're not interested in finding us," she commanded. "In fact your job is to quietly and quickly kill anyone who gets in our way."

The two guards from the front post were coming off their succu-high when they noticed the confrontation behind them and approached the three women. One of the four men reached out with his hand and fired a beam of energy that captured the two terrified guards and slowly closed in on itself, muting the horror filled screams from inside the sphere until it disappeared into nothingness. He looked back toward Tamsin as if requiring new orders.

But the valkyrie said nothing and as Bo and Kenzi watched, the blonde whimpered in pain and crumpled to the floor.

"The supply closet," the goth directed and she and Bo carried the unconscious valkyrie out of the way to allow her a chance to regain her senses away from prying eyes. The succubus eased her down and felt a clump of hair pull easily from her head.

"Dammit, Tamsin. You stay with me. Hold on a little longer, okay?" the brunette urged as the valkyrie became aware once more.

"Don't worry, succubus. I'm not going anywhere. Yet," Tamsin replied weakly and slowly pushed herself to her feet.

"Are you okay for this? Can you go on?"

Tamsin smirked and pushed through the doors and into the hallway, trusting the other women would simply follow her lead.

She refused to tell them how she really felt. It was bad enough they knew she was terminal, but if they had any idea how weak she was now after both Bo's rough feed and being forced to use her powers, they would refuse to proceed. And that wasn't an option.

They needed to know what they were dealing with so they could get back to the others and formulate a game plan.

They continued down the hallway several paces until they hit an intersection and Bo noticed two guards standing in front of the only set of doors down that corridor. "Hmm. That looks awfully suspicious. I wonder what's behind door number 1?"

"How about we go find out?" the valkyrie grinned confidently and made her way over to the men.

"Wait..._Tamsin_!" Bo tried to call her back so they could come up with a way to subdue the guards without taxing Tamsin's powers again.

But the valkyrie was way ahead of them. She knew she couldn't use her abilities any time soon or she would be down for the count so these creeps would just have to be taken out the old fashioned way.

Tamsin crept out of the line of sight of either of them and got close enough to touch them. Which she did. She tapped one on the shoulder and when he turned, she sliced his neck open then quickly pivoted around and gouged the other in the eye with the same blade. Both men collapsed to the ground in a gurgle of agony as they died, the confrontation lasting only a few seconds.

"That...was the _total shit_!" Kenzi exclaimed and Tamsin smirked.

"Practice that move for three thousand years and maybe one day you too will be able to do the same." The valkyrie was still grinning until her eyes met Bo's and then her countenance fell. It was as though she had momentarily forgotten she wasn't supposed to like either of them anymore but meeting the succubus's direct gaze brought it all back to her. Bo felt the implied rejection and bit back a disappointed groan.

"Let's go," Tamsin ordered, and the three of them passed through the double doors.

And into a dark, empty arena.

"Well, this can't be a good thing," Bo muttered.

"I don't know about you two, but my spidey sense is like tingling off the_ friggin'_ charts over here," the human whispered.

"Stay close," the valkyrie ordered, less to tell them what to do and more to assure herself that they were still there and in one piece. "Stay on guard."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Bo reaffirmed as they approached the dark center of the arena and realized it was filled by a large transparent cage.

A light turned on from above and beamed down on them all and Tamsin gulped as she witnessed what was occupying the cell. "Remember that thing you said about this being too easy? Well, I should have listened to you, shortie."

The prisoner turned and Bo recognized her own eyes in this half crazed, demon like beast.

It was her. It was the underfae Bo.

"Welcome, Tamsin," a voice boomed and all three women turned to see a stage set off to their left where a lone man stood on a raised platform. A man the valkyrie recognized all too well.

Oh. _Shit_.

The man grinned, having heard her thoughts. "What have I said about watching what you think around me?"

Bo looked at her valkyrie friend and noticed her pale skin was even paler than usual. "You know who this is, Tamsin?" she whispered, but the blonde's thoughts were too frazzled to hear her clearly.

"You brought her to me just as the prophecy foretold," the man gloated. "But you don't remember the rest of what I said yet, do you valkyrie?" He tsked, phony concern etched in his features. "No, of course not. It's not yet time for you to know. It is, however, time for the rest of the prophecy to be made manifest."

He raised his arms and the walls of the arena began to rise; and Bo realized that the arena was actually not in the building they went through after all, but rather was its own separate satellite away from the facility.

The loud rumbling heralded the arrival of the fae army, who had been positioned all around the facility; and the brick and mortar walls of the arena were replaced by a living wall of fae who were ready, willing and able to die for their master.

Bo, Tamsin and Kenzi all realized the truth of the matter. They were trapped, without any possible venue of escape.

"Tamsin?" Bo tried again. "Who is this guy?" And this time, the voice broke through the shambled mess of the valkyrie's scattered thoughts.

"This man...this is your father, Bo," she replied softly.

The succubus jerked her head toward the laughing man and cringed at the sound. It was not a pleasant noise.

"Oh Tamsin, you told her? I must say, I am surprised. Although," he paused and searched her mind, grinning viciously at what he found, "I see you haven't told her everything about our...association. You're right of course. She would hate you for planning to betray her in order to restore your life cycles, sacrificing her life for yours. And now she knows your truth; and now," his grin spread wider, "she'll never forgive you for what you were going to do, _valkyrie_."

Tamsin closed her eyes and willed herself not to look at either Bo or Kenzi, both of whom she knew were stunned and probably very angry by what they just heard. She realized she might only have one chance at this so she had better make the best of it.

"That's a fantastic rewrite of history, Wanderer," Tamsin retorted, having regained some of her equilibrium. "Funny how you neglected to mention that I didn't know her when you first gave me the ultimatum, or how you realized I was going to betray you and refuse to bring her in."

"Valkyries," the Wanderer scoffed. "More trouble than your worth. It's one of the reasons I took so much pleasure in wiping you lot out in that other reality."

Bo's mind was reeling from all she was hearing but she forced herself to stay focused on what was happening around her, specifically on what her father had just admitted. "That was _you_? You did that in my reality?"

"Such weakness, that tender heart of yours," the Wanderer chided. "Of course it was me, my _sweet _daughter," the man publicly acknowledged Bo as his child for the first time. "Gods are not limited to streams of time and space. We exist outside and above your petty dealings and only enter the fray when it becomes absolutely necessary, as it was in her case. And in yours."

Bo was livid, her bright blue eyes sparking angrily as she consider what this man...her _father_...had done to Tamsin and to the valkyries of her reality. And for what? For her? For this?

"The reasons are not tied together, _my child_," the Wanderer read her mind deftly. "However, the outcome could not have been planned better if I tried. I guess Destiny has her way, and mine is at hand at long last."

The Wanderer's amethyst amulet glowed and the underfae demon succubus turned and saw who was with her in the arena. She snarled with intent as the man gave the order everyone had been waiting for.

"Take them."

The army charged.


	20. When Fates Collide

**A/N: This was a difficult chapter to write and I suspect, will be a tough one to read unless you have a box of tissues handy and maybe a teddy bear.**

**You have been warned. ;)**

* * *

"Bo, you take...you, and we'll take everyone else," Tamsin ordered as though the command were completely rational and laughed to herself at both her stubbornness and the utter hopelessness of their situation. _Sure, just me and the pipsqueak against an army of fae._

That'll end well.

"Right. That sounds fair," Bo remarked sardonically as she drew her blade, also recognizing the futility of their efforts but understanding the need for it all the same.

Kenzi drew Geraldine from where she had been concealed on her back and looked cutely fierce in her determination to be useful. Tamsin had drawn her long dagger and brandished it threateningly as the hoard slowly converged on their position. She'd need to switch up to something more effective at her first opportunity.

The crazed nymph approaching her looked like she'd do the trick. She disarmed her easily, and then literally, swiping the sword from the arm that fell near her body and moving on to her next target.

The valkyrie turned to check on Bo and noticed in horror that some fae was coming up behind her; and what was worse, she seemed to be completely unaware of its presence, too busy fighting what looked to be a gryphon blocking her path to the underfae Bo.

There was no way she could get there in time.

"LOOK OUT, BO!" she called out urgently, when she sensed a blade heading for her head and barely ducked out of the way in time to miss the blow. She responded furiously with the powerful and talented swordsman she was engaging with and silently willed Bo to turn around in time to prevent the attack.

The succubus had heard her but was unable to adjust her position in time to deflect the sword when suddenly a blade swooped down and blocked the strike that would have seriously if not mortally wounded the brunette. She looked up to thank her savior, only to see it was Kenzi.

Bo parried and struck back at her surprise attacker who wasn't expecting her to respond. She jabbed her sword into the fae and turned around ready to keep up the fight; but before she did, she acknowledged her human friend's save with a nod, a wink and a smile.

Kenzi was thrilled. She knew she was way out gunned, or out sworded as the case was here. But she made a difference. She saved Bo's life. She made a mental note to tease her best friend about how Bo had originally planned to leave her behind.

You know, if they survived this onslaught.

Which was looking less and less likely.

"Is this a private party or can anyone attend?" Kenzi heard a very welcome voice call out as a few familiar faces approached her position.

"Well," Kenzi ducked a swipe from a blade, "you are the acting Ash, so like private party or not," she parried, "you'd totally be welcome either way!"

Vex was giggling madly, forcing one of the large enemy fae to serve as his personal guard, stabbing and slicing his way through anyone who entered the mesmer's personal space. Trick and Hale were armed with swords, but Hale varied his attacks between using his siren whistle and striking with his blade.

Tamsin was now dueling a couple of very determined gemini but was able to notice that not only was Bo mostly okay and ready to face her underfae self but their little team had expanded by three.

So now their chance of success was minutely better than completely impossible.

_Awesome_.

Bo regarded the underfae version of herself with sadness and even a little compassion until she remembered this Bo had murdered Lauren and Kenzi and her soft heart hardened perceptibly. The underfae noticed who was attacking her now and grinned maliciously as though relishing the chance to destroy a version of herself who still had a chance at happiness. Something she recently accepted was no longer a possibility for her.

Bo sliced downward with her sword and the underfae ducked the blow and struck her directly in the chest, propelling her backwards several body lengths.

The succubus was shaken and sore, but determined. "You killed Kenzi and Lauren," Bo growled. "Whatever you are now, whatever you've become, you deserve to die." The underfae snarled and grabbed Bo by the crown of her head with one hand, holding her several inches off the ground as their eyes glowed brightly for their face off. Bo used the distraction to jab the blade deep not her adversary's chest; but much to her chagrin, the underfae simply laughed.

"The only one who's going to die, little girl, is you," the demon Bo growled and began to feed forcefully on the mostly immobile succubus. But Bo was not as helpless as she appeared to be and was able to find the strength to strike back defensively, jabbing a pressure point in the the underfae's arm causing the demon to forcefully drop her to the hard ground beneath her.

The valkyrie had finished her gemini adversaries off with a rapid strike, taking them both by surprise, and she turned toward the Wanderer to gage his reaction of the battle.

He seemed amused by it all, by Bo and all the others being hurt and in danger. Tamsin's anger burned against him; and he made eye contact with the incensed valkyrie, sensing her displeasure and looking more than a little pleased with himself.

In truth, he was thoroughly enjoying himself, watching these lesser beings killing and being killed for his good pleasure.

But all good things must come to an end.

He walked forward on his platform and clapped his hands, the sound and energy of the contact of hand on hand resonating throughout the arena and everything came to a screeching halt.

Bo looked around, stunned that the enemy fae army was no longer on the offensive and then did a quick head check. She sighed, relieved. All members of Team Valkubus, as Kenzi had insisted on deeming them, were bloodied, cut and bruised, but alive and accounted for.

"My daughter," the Wanderer began, almost like an official proclamation, which in many ways it was. "Of all the realities I've created, yours is the one I chose because you and you alone are strong enough to bring forth my destiny." He clapped again and the entire crowd cringed. When they looked back to where he was standing, they realized he had been joined by two other figures. Each were mumbling softly, chanting something indecipherable.

And somehow Tamsin just knew that the man on the left was Sisuthros. How she knew this she had no idea, though she figured the Wanderer must have planted the thought in her mind as a warning to her of the horrifying fate that befalls those who fail him or betray him. This being had the power over life, death and resurrection and it was clear to the valkyrie that Sisuthros's particular fate after having suffered a horrifying death was to be reanimated and to serve his master through the end of time.

The Wanderer ignored him and turned to the third figure. "Is it time?" he asked, and Tamsin felt a shiver of dread as the man nodded in the affirmative.

She could barely hear his voice as he gave the Wanderer a warning. "Master, I beg of you. Please be sure of this. The consequences if this fails are dire indeed. Even if this succeeds..."

"Then you will be certain it will not fail," the Wanderer growled. "You will succeed. The dominant will recover and serve me and those too weak to survive the Merging wouldn't have lasted long in my new kingdom anyway," he laughed.

"What is this 'merging'?" Bo questioned her father. "Sounds kind of kinky, if you ask me."

The Wanderer grinned viciously. "You will find out soon enough, my daughter."

The third man's chants grew louder and louder and the sound of his voice echoed and boomed throughout the arena, causing everyone to hold their ears in pain as a small stream of blood trickled out. Tamsin looked up to see a victorious expression on the Wanderer's face as his amulet and eyes began to glow bright amethyst. The glow extended around him and the other two men, growing in intensity and size until it was unbearable.

The Wanderer clapped his hands once more and the noise thundered throughout the arena and spread outward into the outside world and beyond, trailed closely by the nearly blinding light purple glow which shot out and expanded exponentially, ripping through every person in the arena and continuing on until every person on earth was impacted by the blast wave.

The valkyrie barely maintained consciousness and realized she had somehow ended up flat on her back on the ground. She found it difficult to gather her bearings and rise to her feet, unbelievably woozy from whatever the hell THAT that was; but she was clear headed enough though to notice the writhing bodies of those around her and she rushed as quickly as she could over to Kenzi who happened to be the closest to her.

"Doin' alright over there, short stack?"

Tamsin cringed. The young goth looked decidedly unwell. Her eyes were glazed and she was trembling, almost convulsing, from what she just experienced.

Tamsin's mind felt cluttered, like all of the sudden she had memories that weren't hers; and she took a few moments to center herself before checking on the others. She noticed Vex, Hale and Trick...all shaky but functional.

And then she saw...

_No_.

Not possible.

She almost literally shook her head, not believing what she was seeing, but made her way over to the figment of her imagination and checked on him anyway.

"Dyson?"

The wolf opened his eyes and the valkyrie could see that he had been seriously traumatized, his mind not dealing well with what just took place.

Whatever it was.

Tamsin looked to where she had last seen Bo and gasped.

Both the succubus and the underfae were each trapped in a field of bright purple energy and were floating several feet off the ground.

"What are you doing? Why are you doing this?!" the valkyrie exclaimed.

The Wanderer turned and smiled at the valkyrie and Tamsin wished for not the first time that she had the power to kill him. "Harmonic convergence, of course. Isn't it obvious?" he goaded, having read her thoughts and choosing to ignore her insolence. This time.

"Humor me," Tamsin growled.

"I should have realized this would have been too difficult a concept for a small mind like yours to grasp without any assistance," the man tsked. "Very well then. I shall simplify the infinitely complicated for your benefit, my dear valkyrie. Harmonic convergence is an event that takes place only once every 3,000 years. It's a time where those in my realm have the opportunity to enter the realm of mortals, as I will soon be able to."

"You've been here before," the valkyrie countered, confused. "You're here now. Why do you need this convergence thing to visit?"

"Not to visit. To rule. And to do that, I need a worthy vessel. My last attempt proved less than successful," he turned angry eyes to the reanimated corpse of Sisuthros who bowed his head in prostration. "But this time I've ensured my success."

He waved his hands and Bo and the underfae were pulled toward each other, each struggling futilely against the energy encasing them and each screaming in agony as their forms merged into one single being.

The newly formed Bo crashed to the ground, writhing in pain, as torturous waves coursed through her entire body. She shuddered and wailed, unable to manage the unspeakable agony nor the brutal new memories rushing around in her mind.

"Behold, my worthy vessel," the Wanderer crowed.

Tamsin was horrified by what she saw. "You...you _merged_ them?!"

The man shook his head and regarded her as one would a slow child. "Not just her. Every living being on her earth with every living being on this earth. Those who died in one reality are revived anew, but their life energy is singular and of little interest to me. Humans, most especially, will find the transition difficult and many will perish, saving me the trouble of exterminating them. Herds must be culled occasionally, after all."

The valkyrie shook her head in disbelief. "And the rest?"

"The rest will have double the chi. Double the life energy. I will be able to feed for several millennia on the fae who survived the merging, not to mention the humans who prove worthy of serving me."

Tamsin took a shaky breath, needing to know but not sure she wanted to. "And what about Bo? What about your daughter? Can't you see what you've done to her?"

"Indeed I have and she is my greatest success. She is my destiny. After all, I have waited several millennia for her. And now I have her, thanks to you," he sneered.

The valkyrie was having a hard time processing what he was telling her. She understood that he had manipulated her into assisting him in creating this newly merged reality; and that in her efforts to save Bo, she unwittingly had wound up serving him and his dark interests.

And now this super Bo was to be used as his vessel to rule over the earth. He would occupy her body and reign supreme with no one to challenge him and with a planet full of beings with double the chi to keep him energized for ages.

But if his plan included taking over Bo's body, which clearly was his objective, what did he envision would be the fate of Bo's soul? She didn't even want to think about it much less verbalize all the other questions buzzing around in her mind.

The other fae in the arena, including her friends and associates, were slowly coming around and were moving toward his general direction.

"I caused her to fail her Dawning in this reality and she became more powerful than I could have dared to hope," he boasted.

"You..._caused_ Bo to fail her Dawning?" Dyson snarled, still not quite himself yet and still dealing with the influx of divergent memories where in one instance he and Bo successfully completed her Dawning and in another they did not.

"Yes, wolf. You heard me correctly. Where else did you think the chimera who blocked Isabeau's path in the Temple came from?"

Dyson growled again and felt his wolf clawing at his chest, begging to be set free. Moments before, he had been fighting an army of fae along with the three others who came with him to the enemy arena and was doing a fair job of holding his own, with only a few gashes and cuts to indicate he had been in battle. Then within the span of a heartbeat, he was on the ground in incredible pain and Tamsin, who had departed his reality a day or so prior, was somehow leaning over him checking to see if he was real and if he was okay.

He shook his head and grunted. He was definitely not okay.

"Easy, Dyson," the valkyrie advised. "You won't do us any good if you get yourself killed right now."

"Listen to that advice, wolf," the Wanderer mocked. "Even though unlike the valkyrie, you're not needed to fulfill my destiny, perhaps I'll find a use for you in my new kingdom."

Tamsin's brow furrowed. What did he mean by that? Did he actually envision her doing something willingly to help him now?

The Wanderer laughed, having listened in to the valkyrie's thoughts once more. "_You are the catalyst, Tamsin, the key_."

The phrase echoed in her mind and unlocked the memory of the rest of the prophecy he had shared with her before sending her to an alternate world.

"_Only you will have the power to save my daughter from herself. Your true death awaits you, valkyrie; and from your sacrifice, I will have what I desire most. From you, my daughter and I will become as one and rule over the earth_."

Tamsin turned her attention back to the succubus and her heart lurched in her chest. Bo was in real trouble, the pain overwhelming her mind and her body and the valkyrie understood at last what the prophecy meant. Only you will have the power...to save my daughter...from herself.

She turned defiant green eyes onto the Wanderer who laughed at her derisively. He already knew what she was going to do. Even if it weren't prophecy, he could read her thoughts and her feelings, not that that was a particularly difficult challenge given how openly she displayed her emotions.

The valkyrie glanced over at her friends one last time, to the people she had, much to her surprise, come to care about before rushing over to where Bo was struggling, her body drenched in sweat and her face frozen in pain.

"What is she doing?" Trick groaned, as he finally made his way onto his feet. Hale was mostly himself again as well and had dashed over to the now semi-lucid Kenzi's side.

Dyson shook his head, still not clear as to what was going on but suspecting he wasn't going to like it.

"I could stop her, you know," Vex reminded them but Trick gestured for him to stay put for the time being, at least until they figured out what was happening.

"Bo," Tamsin urged gently as she knelt by the brunette. "Bo," she tried again, "I need you to listen to me. I can heal you, Bo, but you're going to have to trust me. You're going to have to feed on me."

Bo opened panicked eyes, which were glowing a brighter blue than Tamsin had ever seen and she shook her head forcefully. "N-no," she shuddered. "I_ can't_. Not...not to you. Not...not after what I did. Tamsin...I won't be able ...to stop..." the succubus forced out before the pain made it too difficult to speak.

The valkyrie was surprised that the brunette was aware enough of her surroundings to know who she was, feel sorrowful about hurting her earlier and be cognizant of her probable inability to control her feeding; but Tamsin was not dissuaded by the rejection. She was the only one who's chi was powerful enough to save her life. It's what had to be.

It's what was destined to be.

"I'm so, so sorry Bo," Tamsin felt a tear or two come to her eyes and she allowed them to fall, "but I'm afraid I'm not going to give you a choice in the matter." She caressed her cheek lovingly with her fingertips before leaning down and taking the succubus in a passionate kiss.

Bo tried to resist, and for a brief moment she succeeded; until quicker than she wanted, she was unable to prevent herself from grasping tightly onto the valkyrie and feeding off of her furiously.

Tamsin jerked in her arms and moaned from the pain caused by the shock of losing so much of her chi at once. The succubus was beside herself, trembling with frustration and need. Bo had the presence of mind to push wave after wave of erotic pleasure into the blonde to ease her suffering as best she could but was not in control of herself enough to prevent herself from going to far. And if she didn't stop...if she couldn't stop...

The energy tore through Tamsin's body and rushed out freely from the valkyrie into the succubus and Tamsin held on tighter, locking her arms behind Bo's head, forcing the embrace to continue and ensuring Bo would not be able to disengage before she was ready.

She vaguely remembered telling Bo that the pain she felt when waking up in Lauren's lab was some of the worse she had ever felt; but this, being drained of every last drop of her chi, surpassed that agonizing experience by far.

But she was determined that this would be more than just a feed for Bo. She needed Bo to know that she didn't see it that way, that it meant more to her than that. With great determination and focus, Tamsin turned the feeding session into an erotic dance of lips and tongues; and Bo groaned in ecstasy and flipped the valkyrie on her back as she continued both the feed and her enthusiastic response to the blonde's passion.

Tamsin's arms loosened of their own accord as she lost the strength to hold them in place. Moments later, Bo pulled away, having been fully regenerated from the trauma of blending with the dark, malicious underfae version of herself.

She smiled, relieved and finally pain free.

Until she looked down at the blonde in her arms, and realized she went too far and had taken too much as the valkyrie shuddered and gasped weakly, her eyes wide, confused and panicked.

"Oh no. Oh my God, NO. Tamsin!" the succubus leaned down and attempted to restore some of the life force she had taken. But the chi wafted back into her mouth as though something were blocking the valkyrie's ability to receive it.

Tamsin whimpered and trembled and Bo frantically tried again. "Dammit Tamsin. Why isn't this working? Take it already!" But the chi refused to enter the valkyrie no matter how many times she tried. "_TAMSIN_!" she shook the blonde in desperation.

The weakened dark fae woman finally stopped trembling; and she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath to clear her thoughts. Her true death was upon her. Wasn't that the rest of how that damnable prophecy had gone?

At least her death would be a noble one, in service to a worthy cause.

There was so much she needed to tell Bo. So much Bo needed to know. She had to warn her about her father's intent, about his desire to overwhelm her and use her body as a vessel to reign over the earth. She had to tell her that the time she had spent with her meant more to her than anything she could ever remember. That Bo was unlike anyone she had met in any of her many lifetimes and that she made her want to be more than she ever dared dreamed she could be, be the woman Bo saw when she looked at her.

She laughed at herself and where her thoughts were leading. She had been right earlier.

She really was getting schmaltzy in her old age.

"Bo," she whispered, not having the strength to speak louder.

"Tamsin! Oh, thank God. Tamsin, I can't fix you! My chi...I keep... and it keeps..." Bo stuttered and gestured wildly, too distressed to complete her train of thought.

"Shh," the valkyrie quieted her. She knew her time was quickly running out as each breath she took turned into a struggle. "This...this was my choice Bo. This is what I wanted...you, safe and whole. Mission accomplished, right?" she smirked weakly.

Bo shook her head, not wanting to listen to what Tamsin was clearly saying. Not wanting to hear her her say goodbye. "No, Tamsin," the brunette's glowing blue eyes filled with tears as she grasped her hand lovingly and held it to her chest. "We'll find a way. I'll find a way..."

"No, Bo. Please...please listen to me. You need to fight. Make sure this was not...not in vain...m-make sure..."

The succubus watched and waited for the rest of the valkyrie's sentence, finally realizing in horror after long moments passed in silence that Tamsin's expression had frozen in place and her chest was no longer moving.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," Bo cried out. "Don't do this to me, Tamsin. Please don't do this to me." She leaned down and tried again and again to give her chi to the valkyrie, even though she knew it was a futile effort.

Long minutes past until finally the succubus choked back a scream at her repeated failures and swallowed the knot in her throat.

There was nothing she could do to revive her.

Tamsin was dead.

With tears streaming down her cheeks unchecked, she lightly touched her lips to the blonde's in a gentle farewell to the woman who gave everything for her. Who sacrificed herself for her.

She pulled away, suddenly very aware of the fact that the valkyrie's body was still present. Trick ambled over and crouched next to his granddaughter in empathy, knowing what she was thinking and why.

Kenzi was still somewhat scattered mentally and physically but thanks to a helpful dose of SirenCare, she felt significantly better than she had a short while ago. And she knew something horrible had happened. As her eyes scanned the arena for Bo, she urged Hale to take her to her.

"I don't care if you have to carry me, Hale. She needs me right now. I can feel it."

Hale looked to where he last saw the succubus and sighed internally, knowing Kenzi was right and wanting to see for himself why Bo was so distraught.

Vex crouched on one knee next to Tamsin's body and, more gently than Bo had ever seen him, wordlessly touched the valkyrie's face and carefully closed her eyes.

"Why is she still here, Trick? Shouldn't she be gone now? Should her body have been taken to Valhalla? WHY IS SHE STILL HERE, TRICK?!" Bo asked frantically, already knowing the answer. The Blood King pulled her head to his shoulder lovingly and cradled her there, knowing words were not necessary right now, and probably not wanted.

Except perhaps if they came from the young human being helped down next to her.

Bo turned toward Kenzi and collapsed in her embrace as both grieved over very different losses embodied in the single form of the sarcastic, pain in the ass valkyrie who each had grown to love dearly.

Their collective sadness and mourning was interrupted by a hideous sound, similar to that of a parliament of frenzied owls screeching wildly. They all turned around and regarded the source of that awful noise.

The Wanderer was laughing at all of them.


	21. A Family Affair

Bo felt more than heard the rumble of Dyson's deep growl as they watched the Wanderer descend from his raised platform down to where the succubus and her friends were all now gathered around the fallen valkyrie.

"And just what the hell do you find so funny, _Wanderer_?" the succubus snarled, her throat raw.

"You, my daughter, and your little gaggle of friends shedding tears over this pathetic creature," the Wanderer sneered. "Do you know what her last thoughts were about? Not of the many wars she altered by the force of her will or nations that rose and fell at her whim. But her _feelings_. Specifically how she felt about you," he ridiculed and nudged with his foot the arm of the valkyrie who, just as prophecy foretold, had sacrificed herself willingly and suffered her true death.

The wolf snarled in response at his disrespect and almost lunged for the leg of the man who was mocking the life, death and sacrifice of a person he knew as a friend and partner, or so the influx of new, conflicting memories had informed him.

"Down, dog, or I will begin to rethink your placement in my kingdom."

"Ask me if I care," Dyson's growl became more pronounced.

"Dyson," Bo urged and with great effort, he forced down the almost overwhelming urge to rip this man's throat out.

The succubus looked over at the wolf to see whether or not he was about to attack her father anyway when she noticed that Dyson was frozen in place...as was everyone else.

"I figured we could use some father-daughter alone time," the Wanderer replied scornfully. "It would seem, Isabeau, as though you have a few things you'd like to say to me, though why you'd speak on behalf of this worthless being is beyond even my infinite knowledge."

Bo rose unsteadily to her feet and regarded this man, her father, with disdain. "This woman you're belittling was noble," Bo defended. "She suffered a lot of shit over the millennia and I have no doubt that you issued quite a bit of it all on your own. But when she had a chance to make a choice that mattered, she chose honor. She chose friendship...and love."

"She chose sentiment over serving her master. She chose weakness, like she always had, child. When I first offered her the chance to save herself, she jumped on it, no questions asked. She was so desperate to save herself she didn't care what I ordered her to do as long as she came out on top and her life cycles were restored. _That_ is the hard truth behind your noble, loving valkyrie." He paused for dramatic effect. "Not that I actually would have kept up my end of the bargain and expended a scintilla of my life force restoring her, of course," the Wanderer added blithely.

"WHAT? Why wouldn't you?"

"Because she was more trouble than she was worth, for one thing. I am a god, Isabeau. My powers extend far beyond what mere mortals or fae can possibly comprehend. I hold the power over life and death, and Tamsin never fully respected that power. Never respected my authority. She was too willful and had defied me one too many times to be allowed to continue to exist past her usefulness to me. She should have realized her folly; instead she chose to compound her long list of mistakes and rebel yet again."

He added almost as an afterthought, "What made her actions today especially pathetic was the fact that even though she knew she was going to die, that you were going to kill her," Bo winced at his cold recitation, "she also knew I was not going to revive her," the Wanderer taunted, knowing he was riling his daughter up. He was testing her, and she was failing. He shook his head almost mournfully.

"Such weakness I see in you. So emotional. So caring. All of this will soon change, my daughter."

"_Never_," she snapped at him.

Bo felt the anger he was stirring in her turn into something dark, and the pull was almost too much for her to suppress or disregard. It was the same sensation she felt after defeating the Garuda and the power she gained from her enthralled team made her hungry for more.

She recalled a conversation she had with her grandfather a year prior or so to the Garuda incident when she was planning on going after Vex for his role in killing dark fae LuAnn Hinderger's human family, where he gently reminded her that as a succubus, she was her own weapon and could use her powers in an offensive attack. She rejected the idea, not wanting to lose control that way.

"At a certain point, it's not about losing control anymore," Trick advised. "It's about taking it." And over the course of the last couple years, she had given in to that call. Against the Lich and his vessels. Against everyone in the Dal after she failed her Dawning in one reality, and to save Dyson after she passed her Dawning in another.

But it wasn't a place she would willingly choose to go. Ever. The pull of that power was just so strong. So tempting. She couldn't give in to it.

"Like I said. _Weakness_," her father replied to her thoughts. "You know, your valkyrie actually believed that in giving you all of her chi she could subvert my plans for you and that you could somehow fight me. Silly fool. You neither have the will nor the power to end my existence. Only I do. Only I choose who lives and who dies."

Bo felt a chill at those words having heard something similar coming out of her mouth a few weeks ago. The idea that this evil being might possibly be influencing her or that she could be like him in anyway...she shuddered.

And then she remembered how just a few short hours ago, she had used her power to exact revenge on Tamsin for what now seemed like a minor infraction.

Perhaps she was more like her father than she wanted to admit.

"But not enough," the Wanderer said in response to her inner dialog. "You see, Isabeau, your ties to these lesser beings have made you small...made you less than what you could be. You fear the power you have when you allow your emotions...your rage...to drive you. It's why you will inevitably lose to me."

"I have no such weakness," the Wanderer snarled, as his hand shot outward and grasped Bo tightly by her throat.

The succubus jolted as an enormous burst of power coursed from her father and into her body. She was immobilized, as unable to move as everyone around her who had been frozen in time. His pendant and eyes glowed a bright purple and Bo watched entranced as the color extended past their boundaries and began to slowly encompass the rest of his body.

Her father was right. He was just too powerful. There was no way she could muster the power needed to stop this. To stop him. Quicker than she could have imagined, the glow had almost fully encompassed the Wanderer's body and was creeping up her arms and down her torso, as if to emphasize the conclusion she had drawn as to the impossibility of resisting.

Thoughts that were not her own began to intrude into her consciousness about what he intended to do with her body once he was in control and she was no more; how he'd pretend that he was Bo and would leave this place and enter her world and live a lie, lulling everyone around her into a false sense of security before slowly revealing himself. His army which would supposedly disband after this battle would rise once again to his call.

And as Bo, he would use his powers enhanced by her own to kill all of her friends and loved ones, starting with the annoying little human who had done so much damage and served as the biggest impediment to Bo's evolution into what she should have been. For that, she would pay with her life and would pay dearly.

The succubus sensed he had just changed his mind about her own fate. Rather than completely eliminate his daughter, he would let her continue on as a helpless bystander to her own body's actions, unable to prevent herself from wreaking havoc on the world at large, starting with those she cared about most.

Bo cringed internally as he revealed to her how her body would be used to murder Kenzi; deliberately this time, not accidentally in an uncontrolled fit of range like she had in that one reality. Other visuals appeared in her mind, taunting her with how she would eviscerate the wolf and decapitate the siren in as gory a manner possible. And what she'd do to Trick, she couldn't bear to even think about it.

But not only would she be forced to think about it, at some point she would be compelled to witness it all as it happened, completely powerless to stop what her own body was doing.

She shuddered, horrified by what would happen to those she loved and sickened by the understanding that they would all die believing she had turned on them, and that they would not comprehend or have any reason to know she wasn't in control anymore of her own actions.

That Kenzi would believe her best friend betrayed her in the most fundamental way possible.

No. She couldn't allow this. She couldn't passively accept defeat like this.

She had to do something.

Her eyes instinctively looked past the glowing form of her father to the body of the person who had sacrificed herself to save her knowing she would not be reborn. Knowing it would be her last act on this earth.

Tamsin had been so desperate for Bo to hear what she was saying as she was fading away. She begged the succubus to not let her death be in vain. She begged her to fight. But how could she fight against this? What could she possibly do to stop him?

Then she realized, her father in his arrogant dismissal of her had given her the key. He had told her the way to defeat him, but could she really go there? Would allowing her fury to take hold and enhance her strength really be taking control as Trick had told her before, or would she lose everything in the bargain?

The cost of this decision would be great, no matter the outcome. Even if this worked, she could lose herself like she feared when she faced the Garuda, when she implored Kenzi to kill her rather than let her live as something dark and unrecognizable. But she was choiceless, and she knew it.

She wondered if the Wanderer could still hear her thoughts since he wasn't reacting to anything she was thinking; but it seemed as though he was either too focused on what he was doing to notice or he truly did not believe she would find the will to do what needed to be done.

_Yet another in a long line of assholes who underestimated me_, Bo growled internally, feeling his control of her body strengthen and his influence almost eradicate what was left of what made her Bo as the purple glow covered all but her face.

Bo closed her eyes and focused all her energy on her rage. On Tamsin, who suffered and died because of her father. On Kenzi and Lauren, who were killed in one reality because of her father. On what he intended to do to those she loved once he was in control.

But rather than try to tame the emotions those thoughts generated, she instead concentrated on increasing the intensity of the storm they created. The helplessness and fury she experienced when she considered how he'd use her to maim and brutally murder friends, loved ones and total strangers in his quest for global domination and force her to watch.

His punishment to her for being weak.

The succubus snarled internally, enraged by the unmitigated gall of this man who saw her as just another he could easily conquer and discard, that he believed she'd just roll over and succumb.

She would NEVER give in. And why should she? She had his power, the power to take life and the power to give it. She also had other gifts passed on by Aife and by Trick. Her powers far outmatched his. She knew it, and could feel that he knew it too; but he believed her ties to humanity had made her weak, unworthy of being anything more than a vessel for his use.

_Perhaps he was right_, she wondered as she felt the addictive dark energy extend throughout her body. Perhaps compassion did keep her from reaching her full potential, keep her from what was rightfully hers by birthright.

If anyone should rule the earth, it was her.

In one small part of her mind, Bo was distantly aware that his influence on her was making her think and feel things she normally wouldn't consider; but she also knew that if she had any chance at defeating him, she would have to embrace the darkness and pray that she would somehow be able to regain herself when the battle was over.

And so the part of her that only minutes before had been horrified by the idea of giving into these dark urges made its choice to retreat to the recesses of her mind and commit fully to the intoxicating power, letting it take over her.

The succubus opened her eyes, the bright blue glow perceptibly startling the god-man; and she growled audibly as she broke his control of her by the power of her immense will. She grasped him tightly by his throat, her lips twisted in a snarl.

_No, this isn't possible_, the Wanderer thought in stunned disbelief, as the glow that had almost fully encased his daughter and would have merged them into one being instantaneously retreated back through his body and into the amulet.

"_And why shouldn't it be_?" the succubus responded to his thoughts with an eerie, multilayered voice, strangely devoid of all emotions save one...scornful rage. "_I am the child of a god, the daughter of a succubus and the grand daughter of a blood sage. My power far outstrips your own, old man_," the succubus's eyes grew even brighter as she continued to tear into and through his thoughts and ignored his piteous screams.

"_I control will. I control desire. I have power in and through my blood. You are nothing but a pathetic artifact, a wannabe deity desperately clinging to an ancient prophecy about something that will never be; seeking one last pathetic grasp for power and glory. There will be a victor today, one who will leave this place and will soar to greatness; but it won't be you. I am the one with the power to remove anyone who stands in my path._"

The energy racing throughout her body boiled over as she and her father, still in her grasp, rose several inches off the ground.

"_I am the one who chooses who will live and who will die_."

And with that proclamation, she willed his mouth to open with her thoughts and his very distinctive purple chi came pouring into her.

Time began moving forward again, the Wanderer no longer able to maintain the freeze, and the entire crowd was completely mesmerized by what they were witnessing.

Suddenly the air above them was filled with a near blinding light as long streams of chi flowed freely from from the Wanderer's fae army and into the waiting the super powered succubus, who was easily taking in all of the energy being sent her way.

Long seconds passed until she finally had her fill and was done with this man and his supposed army, who all crashed to the ground after losing so much chi all at once. All except the Wanderer, whose throat was still held tightly in his daughter's vice like grip.

The succubus's eyes continued to glow...but now they were the same bright purple her father's once had been before she had robbed him of such an enormous amount of life energy.

"_Puny god_," she sneered, as she grabbed his amulet with her other hand and ripped it from his neck before shoving him forcefully upwards and back to his platform to land next to the bodies of his oracles, who hadn't survived the succubus taking the Wanderer's chi from their reanimated bodies.

Without the amulet to anchor him to this realm and having been seriously weakened by his daughter, the Wanderer was completely unable to keep himself from being sucked forcefully back into his realm, cursing and screaming as he disappeared into nothing, leaving the bodies of his two dead oracles and his unconscious army of fae behind.

The succubus's attention turned to the corpse of the valkyrie; and the part of Bo that cared about such things knew there was something she needed to do. The voice was small, but it was insistent; and the succubus finally gave in to its persistent pleas.

"_My power. My will. My choice_," she declared authoritatively in that same creepy voice, as she spread her arms and multiple, large, powerful streams of purple energy flowed rapidly out of her mouth and down to the deceased valkyrie. The Wanderer's chi not only felt different from anything she had ever tasted before, it behaved differently too. Instead of going straight into Tamsin's mouth, they wrapped themselves around her multiple times, lifting her up so that she too was floating several inches off the ground. Once her body had been totally been encompassed by the purple chi, then and only then did it forcefully enter her mouth at a velocity most bystanders believed was impossible for her to withstand.

Long moments passed, so long that many believed the succubus's efforts were futile. But finally Tamsin's eyes blinked open wide and glowed the same bright purple as the Wanderer's chi, which was in the process of restoring countless life cycles so that her energy level was comparable to what it was during her first lifetime. She coughed and gasped, completely overwhelmed and unsure as to what was happening to her; when finally the flow of purple chi stopped and she crashed back to the hard ground beneath her, shivering and unable to catch her breath or process the chaotic mess within her mind.

Dyson and Kenzi rushed over to the shivering valkyrie's side to offer any kind of assistance they could. Tamsin's eyes glowed bright purple and her expression was frantic. She was confused and unsure of who these two individuals were and why they looking at her with such concern.

But they were patient; and as the valkyrie's eyes slowly returned to their natural icy green, her fractured memories started to re-piece themselves together. She knew these people. That was her partner Dyson on the right and on the left...

"Shortie," she whispered with a gravely voice and smirked lightly for her diminutive friend's benefit. Both the wolf and the small goth girl released the breath neither had been aware they were holding, relieved that they actually got Tamsin back, despite the incredible odds against that happening.

They each heard an odd noise and turned to see Bo drop swiftly to the ground grunting on impact, no longer under the hold of her father's powerful chi but struggling nonetheless with dark impulses and the influx of energy she received from the fae army. The succubus was kneeling and she curled in on herself and trembled, overloaded with too much power burning hot trails through her, making it difficult to think through the haze.

She felt rather than saw her human friend tentatively approach her and she held an unsteady hand out to halt her progress. "Kenzi, d-don't," she warned, her voice strained and gritty but otherwise back to normal. She remembered in vivid detail how in one reality she brutally attacked Kenzi, sending her flying through the wall in the Dal Riata. The human had been trying to reach her, trying to calm her and comfort her after her failed Dawning and the devolved succubus rewarded her friend's loyalty and commitment by killing her.

She would die before she would allow that to happen again.

Kenzi remembered too, the second set of memories of Bo's Dawning gone bad confusing and frustrating her. So she took Bo's warning to heart, and now Trick's as well which he had silently issued with a stern look from where he knelt several paces away next to a perplexed looking Vex and Hale. She remembered both the emotional and physical pain she felt when Bo had struck her and it was not an experience she was interested in repeating anytime soon. Like ever.

Especially the part that followed, what with the whole dying thing and all.

At the same time, she knew Bo needed her like never before. She'd just have to be a smidgen more careful this time.

"KENZI!" Bo growled at her again. "I-I can't...don't...you have to get away...for your...o-own good..." the succubus cried out to her; and the young human was overcome with empathy and love for her fae sister who had the presence of mind to put her well being ahead of her own just like she always did, but especially now through this difficult struggle.

This was her Bo. She was mostly here, unlike the underfae Bo who had been mostly not.

She just needed a push. Kenzi-style.

The young human grinned to herself, having totally come up with the perfect way to reach her friend.

"I've got one really perf reason why I won't leave you to deal with this shitstorm alone. Wanna hear it?" the goth smiled softly as she paraphrased the beginning of a conversation she had with the succubus a few scant hours ago.

The trembling succubus slowly met her young friend's concerned eyes, and Kenzi's heart broke all over again at the confused and overwhelmed shining bright blue gaze staring back at her. "W-what?"

"My reason for staying," Kenzi repeated patiently. "Do you wanna know what it is?"

Bo took a shuddering breath and tried to order her thoughts so she could answer her friend. This conversation...it was familiar to her. She remembered having it just a short while ago although it felt as though that particular chat with Kenzi took place years ago rather than a couple hours. She needed to hear what Kenzi had to say just as much now or even more than she had then. She nodded shakily to the young human's question and she could see that Kenzi was relieved and elated that she was even able to respond in the first place. "Go for it," she replied as she had earlier, her voice rough from over use.

Kenzi risked moving closer, needing to touch her friend. She could feel Dyson and Trick's disapproving gaze but they'd just have to deal. Her eyes filled with tears and she gently held Bo's face in her hands. "It's real simple. I love you with all my heart, Bo-Bo, and I'll never leave you, no matter what." She had forgotten her exact words from before but she figured what she said was enough to communicate her feelings.

Tears filled the succubus's eyes and she issued a watery smile. "I meant...what I said before, Kenzi. If...if you ever left me..."

"Hmm," the human interrupted. "Looks like blue glowy eyes affect not only your hearing, but your memory as well, Bo-bolicious. We gots to do something about that!"

Bo laughed tremulously. "Thank you...for saving me. Again," she whispered and pulled her friend close to embrace her lovingly, holding her head carefully to her shoulder. But even that was too forceful for Kenzi who hissed in response, still battered both from the fight as well as the from the trauma of having to integrate a second world's worth of memories due to the Wanderer's forced merging of realities.

The succubus pulled back, her features etched with concern and regarded her human friend with an odd expression. "So...listen Kenzi. I'm going to do something now...but like, don't freak, okay?"

Kenzi's eyes widened. "That was a bit too vague for my liking, Bo-Bo."

Bo's bright blue eyes softened. "Trust me?" she whispered questioningly, completely aware that the young human had plenty of legitimate reasons not to right about now and Kenzi knew she could have totally turned her down without hurting her feelings.

Much.

Okay, who was she kidding?

"Always," the human whispered with a shaky voice. Trusting, something unnatural to her on the one hand, was second nature in her dealings with Bo. She would not allow what happened in another reality or what she saw today alter what was a core element of her relationship with this fae woman.

The succubus gently opened Kenzi's mouth and leaned in almost close enough to kiss her, and focused on sending a gentle yet powerful stream of chi into her human friend. Not enough to overwhelm her, but enough to heal her injuries. She pulled back and gazed adoringly into her eyes.

Kenzi felt the warm energy suffuse her body and her cuts and bruises gently melted away. Her ice blue eyes widened in shock. "_Dude_! That was...t-that was..."

"_Succumazing_?" Bo teased lightly and Kenzi's grin widened in response.

"At least! Is that what you feel when you're hoovering someone's face after you get hurt? Because you know I could like _totally_ go for a health plan like that!"

"The premiums would be too high for you, I'd wager," the wolf's voice rang out from behind the human and Bo carefully got to her feet and hugged the light fae detective, who returned her embrace. "Hey you," he whispered in her ear, his relief and joy at her being restored almost choking him.

She pulled away from him slowly and surveyed the wealth of wounds covering his body, some of them fairly deep cuts; and with great care, she leaned into him and kissed him, allowing her emotions to reign enough so as to amplify the healing chi she sent into his body but not so much as overwhelm her. And when she was done, he could see that the blue in her eyes had toned down measurably and she was no longer shaking, no longer overflowing with excess energy.

Bo was fully back to being Bo.

"Dyson," she began, her voice still raw, "I remember what happened to you. In the Temple and right afterwards and I'm..."

"It wasn't your fault, Bo."

"None of this is," Trick interrupted softly as he and the others approached her carefully. "Your father is the one who sabotaged your Dawning so he could ensure you'd be infused with a dark energy when he melded you both together in order to create the ultimate worthy vessel for his soul." Dyson growled at the notion but the Blood King disregarded the sound and continued, "That you were able to fight it off at all..."

"I wouldn't have been, Trick. Not if it hadn't been for...for Tamsin," her brow furrowed as she turned and looked over to where the valkyrie was now sitting up and leaning her head against the arms resting atop her knees. Bo had been so overwrought in dealing with what she had done to Kenzi and Dyson that she almost lost sight of the one person who had quickly become very important to her over the last several months. In both realities.

The succubus knelt beside the blonde and carefully tugged on the hand her forehead was resting on, urging her to make eye contact. "Tamsin," Bo whispered tenderly as the valkyrie's dazed gaze finally met her own, green eyes to succubus blue. Tamsin was entranced as she watched the blue in Bo's eyes finally soften to its natural warm brown.

"What's up, succubus?" the blonde asked casually, a haze of exhaustion and total disbelief as to what she just experienced coloring her tone.

Bo gamely played along. "Well, you know. Fought a demon version of myself, killed someone I cared about, came dangerously close to having a dark entity take over me body and soul and chi sucked an army. The _yuzch_."

"You excluded something pretty important, succulette, or at least important to me," Tamsin reached a tentative hand out and gently traced the contours of Bo's cheek as unshed tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Heart-to-hearts really weren't her forté, but for Bo, she'd give it her best shot. "You left out the part where you brought me back to life and restored my life cycles to a point I haven't been at in thousands of years. You...you _saved_ me," the valkyrie choked. "No one else from my many lifetimes would have even bothered trying. None of my so-called friends...no one. I've...I've never met anyone like you...with a heart like yours."

"Oh my God, are you kidding me?" Bo returned valkyrie caress. "I killed you, Tamsin! It was my fault that you were dead in the first place! Anyone else in my position..."

"...wouldn't have given a damn." Tamsin completed. "Believe what I say on this. I have thousands of years of history to look back on," she smirked. "And stop blaming yourself for what happened. It was your asshole father who put you in that position in the first place; that wasn't your choice. And it was my decision to give all of my chi to you, so you didn't have a choice there either."

Bo looked the serious blonde in the eye and suddenly burst out laughing. Tamsin regarded her succubus friend and wondered if perhaps the pressures of the day had finally caught up to her and made her slaphappy.

Or completely cracked.

Either one.

"You wanna tell me what you find so hilarious, Bo?" she grinned, unable to keep from responding to the brunette's contagious humor.

Bo wiped her eyes, allowing the laugh trickle down to a random chuckle, her overwrought emotions and overwhelming relief making the situation a little funnier than it usually might have been otherwise.

"You are, Tamsin. I swear. You don't see it, do you? And you say I'm stubborn?" The valkyrie frowned, not understanding what she was getting at. "I'm sitting here listening to you tell me about how amazing I am and how big a heart I have and that you've never met anyone in your many lifetimes who would bother risking their life for you like I did. Well, let ask you something, blondie. Have you ever bothered looking into a mirror? Because you just described yourself. That's how I see you; the woman who risked herself and traversed dimensions looking for a hero. The one who willingly gave all that she had to stop my suffering and save my life, knowing it was the last thing she'd ever do. Knowing you wouldn't be sent to Valhalla and be reborn, that it was your true death."

Bo took a shaky breath and cradled both of Tamsin's cheeks lovingly. "I've never met anyone like you either, valkyrie, with a heart like yours."

The blonde gasped softly, completely unprepared for either the determined, passionate tone in Bo's voice or the loving way in which she regarded her. No one had ever spoken to her that way before and truly meant it and no one had ever, _ever_ looked at her with an expression of such pure adoration.

Dyson had heard the whole exchange between the two fae women and he ducked his head, knowingly. _Perhaps in a reality where Tamsin didn't exist_, he pondered, he might have had a second shot with Bo. The wolf looked into both of their eyes and came to terms with the fact that his time with her had passed; and that, whether she knew it or not, Bo's heart had moved on to another. Granted, to as unlikely a suitor for Bo as he could possibly imagine given the valkyrie's checkered background, but yet still somehow a perfect fit for Bo.

It's a good thing wolves appreciated irony.

Tamsin had been overwhelmed by what the succubus had said to her and was about to respond when a noise from the opposite side of the arena captured all their attention.

Across the sea of the still mostly unconscious fae bodies, a silhouette of a familiar form came into focus.

"Oh boo, it looks like I missed all the fun this time, didn't I?" Aife grinned.

"Aw _hell_," Trick muttered under his breath.

* * *

**A/N: You all didn't think I was actually going to leave my girl dead for too long, now did you? ;)**


	22. Many Happy Returns

**A/N at the bottom along with reader feedback!**

* * *

A full seventy-two hours had passed since they left the Wanderer's arena and the gang was now rested enough to enjoy a party at the Dal to celebrate their unlikely victory.

While back at the arena, Aife had disappeared into the mist almost as quickly as she had materialized, and Trick had been relieved to say the least. Bo had already indicated that she needed to talk with him about her father and about what he may or may not have known and should have told her and he was not looking forward to that conversation at all; but it would have been complicated beyond all hope of redemption had his wayward daughter stuck around to gum up the works.

As for dealing with the army, that responsibility had landed on Tamsin's shoulders at her own behest. "I got this," she had grinned cockily and strode onto the Wanderer's platform as the enemy troops finally began to stir after being super succ-ed by Bo.

The valkyrie had pulled her hair up into a loose knot and looked out toward the army, her commanding presence demanding their total attention as she changed into her true form. But rather than just her face altering its appearance as had been the case both times Bo had witnessed Tamsin let loose her powers, majestic wings materialized behind her, stretching authoritatively; and the surface of her entire body shimmered and glowed brightly as she levitated several inches off the ground. Her face and neck morphed into the frightening skeletal form she had only been able to partially reveal in the days prior to her last death.

"Hear me, warriors," she had ordered the Wanderer's troops with a booming voice that commanded their absolute respect and total regard. "You will disperse from here and return to your regular lives; and you will forget all that you have seen here this day."

Without missing a beat, the entire army had dropped their swords simultaneously creating a loud, jarring clatter and left without saying another word. A few moments later and the arena was completely empty, with the exception of Team Valkubus.

When Tamsin had floated back to the ground and turned back to face the rest of the team, she was her normal gorgeous self again, smiling and perfectly fine, no longer in danger of losing consciousness after fully unleashing her inner valkyrie.

Now three days later, the blonde sipped the beer Trick poured from the tap and thought about Bo's stunned expression after seeing her in all her glory. "You...are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen in my life," the succubus had commented with disarming honestly. The valkyrie had grinned then and was grinning even now; and truth be told, she had enjoyed reliving that particular moment several times over the last few days.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the people in the Dal, all of whom were in an exceptionally jovial mood. Especially Trick, who had come back to his beloved establishment to find an unsteady Stella and half conscious Lauren, each trying to gather their scattered wits. Bo had been beside herself with joy and relief that Lauren was only a little worse for wear but no longer dead; and the human struggled with the conflicting emotions and awareness of her fates from two divergent realities.

Tamsin sighed and mentally rolled her eyes as she spied on the two women from the other side of the Dal. Even now, the succubus couldn't stop herself from randomly touching the doctor as if to see if she were really okay. The memory of sucking all the chi out of Lauren in one reality damaged a part of her soul to a point she could scarcely acknowledge.

Dyson was near the two women as well chatting it up with Hale, and the succubus had almost been as demonstrative with him as she was currently with Lauren. As the irritated valkyrie looked on, Bo leaned over toward the human physician and kissed her lovingly.

_And...that's my cue to split_, Tamsin groaned internally before slipping out of the Dal, unaware that her exit had been tracked by a certain young, Russian female with kickass style and a knack for getting herself into trouble.

* * *

"I know, I know...I keep looking at you and touching you but I just can't help myself," Bo confessed to the light fae physician. "I remember...I remember killing you. Even now...the guilt..."

"Shh," Lauren soothed. "I know you've heard this from everyone else here a thousand times over but you still don't believe it, do you? That none of what happened was your fault?"

"I hear it and I know in my mind that there's truth to what people are saying. But my heart...well...that's a different story."

"Well then let me tell your heart too, and make sure that stubborn thing listens this time," Lauren quirked a grin. "The Bo I know would never harm any innocent intentionally. The being who attacked me...who killed me...it wasn't you. Cruelty like that is not in your nature, Bo; the very idea of it sickens you," she stated with conviction.

"'The Bo you know'?" the succubus questioned.

The doctor nodded. "I do know you, Bo. And I love you. That was true in both realities and I don't see that changing anytime soon...but..."

"But. That damnable but," the succubus sighed. "Nothing's changed, has it?"

Lauren shook her head sadly. If anything the last few weeks had strengthened her resolve. Now more than ever, she was painfully aware that she and the succubus were on different paths. "Both of our lives are with the fae, Bo. But I will never be fae; and you...you always will be."

"'We each have divergent needs that must be met,' I believe was the phrase you used when you broke up with me," Bo whispered with a sad smile.

"Actually I was a bit more emphatic than that. I'm pretty sure yelling was involved," Lauren smiled self-deprecatingly.

"You've been through a lot for the last while," the brunette admitted.

"The entire world has, Bo," the doctor corrected, shifting the attention away from her specific set of circumstances. "People who were dead in one reality..."

"Like you."

"Yes, like me, are alive again and will have to find a way to make sense of the conflicting memories that have them both living and dying. My current theory is that most people will either choose to forget experiencing their deaths altogether or will relegate the memory to something akin to a bad dream they don't want to have ever again. "

"Then there are those who were alive in both realities when it all happened."

"Exactly. The entire living population of the planet...fae and human alike...are being forced to deal with a second set of memories they can't possibly understand the origin of."

"That sounds like a nightmare to have to cover up."

"It is," Lauren conceded. "My understanding is that the powers that be are going to push a lie globally about solar flares and mistaken identities and paint anyone who contradicts the narrative as a conspiracy theorist."

Bo frowned. "Nice."

"A necessary evil. It's what has to be, Bo, in order to keep secret the existence of the fae."

The succubus exhaled sharply and disapprovingly; yet at the same time she recognized the truth of Lauren's words. "So...what happens now? Between us I mean. Can we transition back into being colleagues who happen to harbor deep, dark, secret feelings for each other?"

Lauren barked out a light laugh. "As I recall, we were already starting to get there in both realities before all of this went down."

Bo nodded. "We were. But there is one thing we forgot."

The doctor quirked her head questioningly.

"When we broke up...both times," Bo grinned, "there was such animosity and hurt feelings between us that we never really had a chance to say a proper goodbye. Would you...would you give that to me now?"

Lauren smiled tremulously and nodded, unable to speak through the knot in her throat. With a gentleness few would believe would be possible from a fae with her power, Bo leaned in and traced the contours of her former lover's cheek bone, sending delicious waves of pleasure into her as their lips met in tender regard. Lauren shivered at both touches and melted into Bo, wanting this bittersweet moment to continue for as long as possible.

It ended too soon as far as each of them were concerned as Bo pulled back her face and stared soulfully into the human's eyes. "Goodbye, Lauren. Thank you for always loving me for who I am."

Lauren smiled softly in response. "Goodbye, Bo. Thank you for loving me back and...for just being you."

* * *

Now finally at peace about her breakups with the human doctor, the succubus found herself sulking at the bar several minutes later when Kenzi came barreling up to her excitedly.

"And what, pray tell, has you in such a frenzied state?" Bo grumbled.

"A _frenzied_ Kenzi! That's funny, Bo-Bo!" the young goth girl giggled. "And to answer your question, I've got just one word for you: Hale-is-so-totally-into-me!"

"A lot of hyphens in that one," the succubus quipped, unable to help herself despite her foul mood.

"_Dude_, he like totally spilled his heart out to me and then he asked me out on a real date! I guess remembering how he felt when I died in one reality made him realize he wanted to upgrade my status from friendshipville to potential plus one. Isn't that _awesome_?"

"That's super, Kenz," Bo replied sullenly, as she mindlessly tore the paper from her beer bottle.

Kenzi grunted as she plopped in the seat next to her friend. "Okay. What gives, Bo-bo-barino?"

The succubus sighed forcefully and turned to face her friend. "Notice something missing?"

The human's eyes shot wide open as she experienced another major case of déjà vu. "Hold on. This convo is like ringing some jumbo sized bells. Let me impress you with my amazeballs powers of total recall here." Kenzi held her fingertips to both sides of her forehead and closed her eyes as though she were challenging the spirits to provide her with hidden truths. "I see...a succubus sitting on a rock in a cave. I see her searching throughout the cave for a very specific valkyrie of our mutual acquaintance. I see the feisty yet totally awesome human bestie of the aforementioned succubus verbally kicking her ass to go seek out said blonde bombshell to talk to her and see where things stand between them."

Bo yanked Kenzi's fingers away from her forehead. "I see a succubus making a fool of herself over and over again with that same valkyrie," she growled.

"Well you know, from where I was sitting just awhile ago it looked like you were getting ...uh...'re-acquainted'," Kenzi air quoted, "with a certain lady doctor, were you not?"

"What? _No_! Not like that!" the succubus exclaimed, startled by her friend's comment. "We were just...look. I didn't get to tell you much of what happened between Lauren and I when we broke up, but let's just say it wasn't pretty."

"I could tell that much from the mountain of empty Piles o' Pecans cartons I caught in the trash can, in both realities I might add," the goth remarked dryly.

"Yes, well. Sorry about that. I'll get more, I promise," Bo grinned sheepishly before returning to her story. "At any rate, what you saw tonight...just now...that was us saying goodbye. Properly this time, with no yelling or acrimony. Just a loving farewell."

"Huh."

"'Huh'?" the succubus repeated. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Huh, meaning if I interpreted your sucking face with Lauren the wrong way, there's a good possibility Tamsin did too before she took off."

"She left? When? Where did she go?" Bo looked around as though she might still have a chance to spot her even though it would have been impossible, given the timing.

"Yes. About five minutes ago and I don't know," Kenzi answered succinctly. "But I do know she's going nowhere fast."

Bo caught her mischievous grin and knew her human friend was up to something sneaky. "And how exactly do you know that? Or do I want to know?" she grinned back.

"Because, my dear succuBo, she has a boot on one of her tires. And I..." Kenzi flopped a small zipped leather bound tool case onto the countertop, "...kinda sorta accidentally on purpose 'acquired' her tool kit earlier this evening. You know, just in case," she smirked unrepentantly. "Told ya I'd figure somethin' out, did I not?"

Bo's grin widened as she grasped the human's face with both hands and placed and obnoxiously loud smooch on her cheek. "You are the _best_ bestie a girl can have, you know that Kenzi?"

"Psh, of course I know," the human managed to roll her eyes without moving them as Bo got out of her seat and headed for the door.

"Just don't go on about it too loudly. Peeps'd be gettin' all jealous on yo' succu-ass."

* * *

"DAMMIT!" the succubus heard Tamsin swear soundly as she approached from the far side of the blonde's truck, unnoticed by the agitated valkyrie who was crouching down by her rear tire. The blonde had been trying everything she could to get that stupid boot off of her truck so she could get the hell out of Dodge and as far away as possible from Bo and her human girlfriend's sappy-crappy reunion.

Bo crossed her arms and leaned against the vehicle next to the open driver's side door. A quick check inside revealed a complete disaster area, Tamsin more than likely having torn up the interior of her truck to find her tool kit.

The tool kit presently in Bo's possession.

"Going somewhere?" the succubus asked, startling the blonde.

"As a matter of fact, yes I am; or at least I would if I could find my damn tool kit." Tamsin answered not turning to face the succubus and injecting as much cool as she possibly could into her tone.

"Your tool kit?" the brunette asked in faux confusion. "Would it be, say, about yea big? Black leather with a zipper?" she dangled it in front of her by her thumb and forefinger.

Tamsin jerked her head around and saw her prize and Bo's irritatingly smug expression; and she stood and crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly. "Where did you get that? Or do I even have to ask?"

Bo's grin broadened.

"Well? Are you going to give it back to me, or what?" the valkyrie growled, having fully expended her admittedly short supply of patience.

"And what, exactly, are you going to give me in exchange?" Bo teased suggestively, but Tamsin was not in the mood to play around, especially with this particular individual.

"Fine. Keep the damn thing," the valkyrie barked as she slammed the driver side door and stormed past the stunned succubus. "Later."

"Wait. What? Hold on a minute!" Bo grasped the blonde's arm, spinning her around.

"Remove the hand, succubus, unless you want to draw back a bloody stump," the valkyrie ordered in a no-nonsense tone, and Bo released her appendage, allowing her to continue on her way.

_What the hell?_ Why was Tamsin on her case? Unless...

The brunette smiled internally. Unless she HAD seen her kissing Lauren and misinterpreted it, just like Kenzi had suggested.

And she was jealous.

"You wanna tell me why you're so upset with me?" Bo entreated the valkyrie's departing form.

"Not particularly," Tamsin yelled over her shoulder as she continued on her way.

"That's okay," the succubus replied blithely. "I'm pretty sure I've figured it out anyway."

THAT caused the blonde to stop and turn around to face this extremely irritating woman slash pain in the ass. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Oh wait...that's right; I don't GIVE a damn! So how about you go back inside and tell your little _human_ doctor friend, who I'm sure sits and waits all day with bated breath to hear ANYTHING you have to say to her. And if she's not around, no doubt Dyson will be more than happy to fill in, given how he _pants_ after you like a dog in FRIGGIN' HEAT!" the valkyrie finished, unaware the volume of her voice had escalated as she spoke.

_Oh yeah, she's definitely jealous._

The valkyrie turned back around and began to stomp away but felt Bo's restraining hand land on her shoulder. She was about to pitch a verbal fit when succubus leveraged her positioning to swing the blonde around so her back was pressed against the alley wall.

"Well that takes guts; I'll give that to you. Either that or a death wish," Tamsin snarled.

"Would you just SHUT UP already? God!" the succubus groaned, tired of the blonde's ridiculous threats. "Look. You had your say before, so how about you let me have mine now. Fair?"

"I know your over inflated ego thinks everyone should care about whatever you have to say, succubus, but count me out as one of your adoring thralls," the valkyrie growled, ready to barrel past the brunette if need be so she could get out of here and away from her.

"No? Well maybe you'll listen to this," Bo stated as she leaned into the blonde and took her in a heated kiss. She had wanted to start this conversation slowly and maybe build up to something else; but Tamsin...damn her. She was just so frustrating and stubborn that she took the succubus completely off script and now she was improvising using the one tool she knew best: physical pleasure.

Tamsin opened her mouth reflexively, both stunned by the nerve of this woman and outrageously turned on, her anger and irritation fueling her arousal. Bo felt the valkyrie's aura skyrocket and took that as a good sign, so she pressed tighter against her and accepted the blonde's implied invitation to take her mouth in a furious haze of lust and frustration.

The valkyrie groaned at the delicious sensations generated by Bo's tongue caressing her own and began to give in to the moment, completely overwhelmed by what she was feeling. But as the kiss progressed...as she felt the intense erotic pulses Bo was pushing into her...her anger burned anew and with a strength Bo didn't know she possessed, she pushed the succubus away, her eyes blazing in fury.

_I tell her to piss off and she thinks that's an invitation to kiss me?_

"What the hell, Bo! I know you can read my aura but do you think that somehow entitles to take me like that? Is that why you _violated_ me outside your father's compound? Because you think it's your right? Well newsflash, sweetheart...IT'S NOT!"

Bo pulled away from her as though Tamsin had physically struck her and the valkyrie mentally replayed what she had just blurted out in her anger and frustration, and mentally slapped herself on the back of the head.

"Bo wait, I didn't mean...I shouldn't have...oh _hell_."

The succubus backed off further and sunk down the side of the wall until she was fully seated; and she stared off into the distance with unseeing eyes.

Tamsin sighed and looked around awkwardly, wondering if she should just leave after having stuck her foot in her mouth big time.

But she could see how hard Bo had taken her verbal smack down and just...couldn't. Dammit.

They were going to have another heart-to-heart, weren't they?

_DAMMIT_.

The valkyrie rolled her eyes and sighed again as she sat down next to the stunned brunette. She should apologize, right? That seemed the best and fastest way to end this scene and then she could leave and Bo could go back and do...whatever with her human hottie.

"Look, Bo..."

"I think about that moment a lot, you know," the succubus bowed her head in shame. "Of all the shit that's happened lately, of everything I did, that's the one thing that bothers me the most. I did that because I wanted to get back at you...to hurt you. My father didn't make me do it. I wasn't under any spell. I was just...so hurt and angry. It scares me...what I did, because now I wonder if I'm just like my father..."

"God no, don't even _think_ that! Believe me...you are NOTHING like that bastard."

Bo turned repentant brown eyes toward Tamsin and the sorrow the valkyrie read in them made her want to kick her own ass.

"I'm so sorry for what I did to you, Tamsin. I had no excuse for treating you the way I did. Not then, and not now."

The valkyrie was uncomfortable in these kinds of situations at the best of times; but since she started this, she had better come up with something appropriately clever or meaningful to fix things, if she could.

"Look Bo. Your feelings were hurt, you gave into a bad impulse and you did something stupid. It happens."

Bo was confused by Tamsin's flippant attitude. "You're...letting me off the hook? But you said..."

"I KNOW what I said, succulette. What, you think you're the only one entitled to give into bad impulses and do stupid shit? Please," Tamsin smirked self-depricatingly.

Bo considered what the valkyrie was saying and read into what she wasn't. "You're saying I hurt you just now, aren't you? That's why you lashed out, isn't it?"

Tamsin felt trapped, completely unsure of what she could say that would get her out of this emotional mine field without being blown to smithereens.

The succubus spared her from answering right away. "Well, I don't know about you but I don't want to continue this conversation sitting in God-only-knows what. How about we go back to the club house and have a glass of wine or something?"

The valkyrie didn't want to continue the conversation AT ALL and the look in her eyes must have communicated her reticence.

"Please? For me? I just have a few things I want to talk to you about, if...you know...you're willing to talk to me. About anything."

The valkyrie felt her resistance waiver at Bo's nervousness and awkwardness. It was kind of adorable, actually, though she doubted she'd ever willingly speak that particular thought aloud.

"No kissing this time, I promise," Bo quirked a grin, sensing the valkyrie was about to give in; and Tamsin felt drawn in like a proverbial moth to the flame.

"FINE! Fine," Tamsin exhaled sharply as she stood and helped Bo to her feet, unsure as to why she was doing this other than the fact that Bo had asked her to do it. _Pathetic_.

"But eighty six the wine. Something tells me this particular convo will require something with a little more kick."

* * *

**A/N: I was so excited when I saw that Lost Girl decided to give Tamsin wings! I actually had written this chapter a couple weeks before we saw them on the show. Of course, I don't like that they're saying it's a sign that this is Tamsin's last life. :( Anyway...**

_Reader feedback time:_

_**Purple-Ketchup: **YES. (I figured you said "NO" to Tamsin sacrificing herself and getting killed off; but alas, she really was dead. For one chapter.)_

_**UnalignedSuccubus: **BOOM back at you and your fic, which I have yet to review. :)_

_**BSwifty1997:** Thank you! And you didn't think Trick was going to be in the 'all clear' regarding Aife right or that she wouldn't make at least a cameo appearance?_

_**eramosa:** Nope. I have one more written chapter after this one (it's long). And then the epilogue that I've only mentally sketched out and still need to write._

_**SixPerfections:** It's funny you say that about Lauren because that's one of the reasons I wrote what I did in this chapter. Bo and Lauren didn't break up or stop seeing each other because Lauren died. They broke up because they're not compatible, not only in my story but on the show. While I'm glad the show gave Bo the chance to have a relationship with a human...something she was terrified to do at first for obvious reasons, such a relationship was doomed from the start. Beyond the biological incompatibilities come also the emotional and life journey ones. They are just on different paths with needs that cannot be met together, IMHO._

_**DarowdrynofArcadia:** Welcome to the good ship Valkubus! :)_

_**zigfiction:** Thank you for reading! I'm glad you enjoy it!_


	23. Club House Confessions

**A/N: This is it! Final chapter. I'm having an inspiration problem with the direction the show is taking but...I may still pull that epilogue together yet!**

**Thanks for enjoying the ride with me. :)**

* * *

"You know," Bo began tentatively as she poured both of them a shot of vodka, "I had thought that things were going pretty well between us for awhile, you know after I killed you and brought you back to life." She grinned sheepishly, and Tamsin couldn't help but return the smile as she reached across the counter for her shot glass. "You want to tell me what's changed since then?"

The valkyrie took an unsteady breath and downed her shot as she eyed the succubus warily.

Bo saw the look in her eyes and misinterpreted her hesitation. "I promised I wouldn't touch you, alright? Look, I'll even stay on this side of the counter."

"No, it's not that. It's just...you...God I so suck at this shit," Tamsin mumbled under her breath and poured another shot, downing it quickly. "Look, I...it felt like you were just toying with me or something and I didn't like it. Okay? We good now?"

Bo shook her head. "No. That's not it. You were upset with me before I kissed you. I think it was because...Kenzi told me there was a chance that maybe you saw something, and that you might not have interpreted what you saw correctly."

Tamsin snorted. "I may not be a sex goddess like you are sweetheart, but I'm pretty sure I can sort out what an open mouthed kiss means between two lovers."

"Aha! So you DID see the kiss," Bo crowed victoriously. "And for the record, our mouths were closed."

"AAH! I don't need a play by play if it's all the same to you," the blonde growled as she downed another shot and got to her feet. "You kissed. That's all that matters. The end. Can I go now?"

"Why the hell are you so impatient to get out of here?"

"Why the hell did you ask me here in the first place?!" Tamsin snapped back. "Tell me something. What kind of role do you see me playing in your life now, Bo? Hmm? I'm not really bestie material and you've already got Kenzi for that anyway. And as for something else..."

"Something else?" Bo pressed.

Tamsin sighed, defeated. "You have Lauren. Or Dyson. Or any number from a long list of people who would sell their major internal organs for a chance to be with you."

"But not you, right? Is that what you're saying?"

The air exited Tamsin's lungs as though someone had punched her in the gut. "Why are you so intent on playing these kinds of games, Bo? Are you still mad I didn't tell you about the deal I made with your father?"

Bo walked to the edge of the counter, remaining on the opposite side so she was still keeping her promise; but now she was close enough to touch the wary valkyrie if she wanted to. To hold her, if she wanted to. "Why are you so convinced I'm playing games with you, Tamsin?"

_Because that's what I'm used to. Because that's all I'm good for. Because there's no other reason you'd bother with me when there are so many other better options available to you._

The valkyrie shook her head and said nothing.

Bo realized that perhaps she had been unintentionally toying with the valkyrie, in a way. She had been teasing her and she was being coy about what happened with Lauren at the Dal, about the kiss Tamsin witnessed. The blonde had no way of knowing that the succubus was only trying to protect herself. Protect her heart from possible rejection. Bo sighed internally, wishing she hadn't promised not to touch Tamsin. Physical pleasure came so much easier to her than this kind of emotional risk.

But she could see that Tamsin needed her to be completely open with her; so she swallowed her fear, and another shot, and dove into the deep end.

"Tonight at the Dal, what you witnessed...that was Lauren and my last moments together as a couple. Hell, it wasn't even that; it was more like a damn postscript," Bo smiled humorlessly and could see that Tamsin wasn't really sure what she was telling her or why.

"Lauren and I...we had broken up a long time ago...in both realities. But those partings were messy and painful and I...I wanted to end things on a more positive note, since we're going to continue to bump into each other for the foreseeable future. Do you understand? What you saw was me saying goodbye to her. To our relationship. Nothing more."

Tamsin shook her head, confused. "I don't...I don't know why you're telling me this, Bo. Your personal life is your business, not mine."

"But that's the thing, Tamsin. I very much want you to be a part of my personal life. I want it to be your business."

The valkyrie's head and heart were in turmoil; so she fell back to the only state that protected her when she felt this vulnerable. Anger. "I thought I made myself clear, succubus. I'm not interested in being a member of your little harem of sexual conquests or in being on your short list when you need a quick roll in the hay."

But Bo wasn't put off by her outburst in the least. "I'm not interested in either of those things either."

Tamsin eyed her suspiciously, confusion etched in her features. "What?"

"Don't you remember what I said to you back at the cave? I told you I wanted to explore what was happening between us. I wasn't talking about wanting you to be one of many; but I think you knew that already, didn't you?"

"I don't...I didn't...but...but WHY?!"

Bo's brow furrowed. "Why what?"

"WHY ME? God Bo," Tamsin took a shaky breath and tried to gather her scattered nerves. "You deserve someone good, someone noble. Shit...you deserve a hero like Dyson; not a damn train wreck with several thousands of years worth of screw ups and a shit ton of baggage."

The air was thick with tension and Bo decided she needed to take a different route.

"Back in the arena, the Wanderer...my father," Bo sighed," said a lot of shitty things about you, not only before you died but afterward as well. He told me you were worthless and weak; that you were selfish and pathetic and that I was wasting my tears on someone who wasn't worth the energy it took to shed them."

The valkyrie remembered very clearly what he had said about her while she was still alive to hear it. "He was right, you know."

_Wait, did Bo just say she cried over me?_

"What? NO! He was not right, dammit; not at all!" the succubus exclaimed, startling the blonde.

"Don't you see? Don't you get it?! I don't give a DAMN about what he said, or what mistakes you've made over the centuries. And he was DEAD WRONG about me hating you for making that deal with him because I don't give a damn about that either," the brunette watched Tamsin bow her head in shame.

"Do you wanna know what I do care about?"

The valkyrie raised her head so her eyes met Bo's and the succubus was tempted to reach out and capture the tears she could see were about to break free and trickle down the blonde's cheeks.

"I care about you and your beautiful, noble, selfless, heroic heart," Bo grinned through watery eyes. "I meant everything I said outside the cave and while we were both sitting on the floor of the arena after everything went down there." She watched as Tamsin shook her head lightly in denial or disbelief, Bo couldn't tell which. "Look...I have no doubt you've done some messed up shit that you probably still feel guilty for; but all that matters to me is that you chose to save my life knowing it would cost you yours. Selfish cowards do not sacrifice themselves for others like you did for me, Tamsin."

Bo paused and gathered the will to fully open herself emotionally to this woman. "I only hope one day...I'll be good enough to deserve having you in my life...and be worthy of the look you're giving me right now."

The blonde huffed out a disbelieving breath; and before she thought about all the reasons why this was probably a horrible idea, she crossed over to the other side of the counter and pulled Bo into a heated kiss, pushing her backwards so that the succubus was trapped between the sink and the very amorous valkyrie.

Tamsin nibbled enticingly on Bo's lower lip, requesting and then receiving permission to dip into the succubus's inviting mouth and reveled in the heat and taste and feel of her tongue curling around and sensually caressing the brunette's. She was enflamed and entirely enraptured by the sensations she was experiencing, both physically and emotionally.

Bo wondered hazily if she might literally spontaneously combust, given the sensual, erotic waves she was both giving and receiving from her impassioned valkyrie, whose mouth and hands never stopped moving. Never stopped caressing and exploring.

So far, every time they've kissed it had been because Bo pressed the matter or because she needed Tamsin's chi to heal. Never before had the blonde initiated this kind of contact of her own accord. Never had she been the instigator; and the succubus was thrilled and almost overwhelmed by Tamsin's passion and energy for her.

She also realized she was in big trouble.

She hadn't fed since the arena and Tamsin was stirring some pretty basic needs in her that she didn't want to indulge yet with the blonde for several reasons; none of which she was proud of and all of which she hoped she could get over before Tamsin figured it out.

Tamsin's full weight was leaning into the brunette when she finally pulled her mouth away and rested her forehead against Bo's so she could take in some much needed oxygen.

The valkyrie was in awe.

It wasn't particularly meaningful to be turned on sexually by a succubus. After all, that was a simple byproduct of their existence; and most beings, human and fae alike found themselves attracted to succubi and inccubi simply because it was their nature to be attractive.

So it wasn't her physical state of arousal that amazed her, even though she'd have to admit if asked that she was pretty damned aroused.

Instead, what really captured her thoughts was her emotional state. She was...happy. No, more than happy. She was overjoyed. And it was all due to the impossible creature in her arms. The selfless succubus who cared more than she should about the feelings and well being of other people. The brave, gentle yet crazy strong fae woman who took on a freakin' god...and won. Who revived a tragic, worn down valkyrie and gave her life. Gave her hope.

She looked into the bright blue eyes of the succubus, her own gaze filled with wonder. So this was the big deal, huh. This was what it was like to fall. "Boom," she whispered to the confused brunette who didn't understand the context but inferred the meaning effortlessly.

"Boom," Bo whispered back with a smile. Tamsin smiled back and then, just because she had to, she injected a little bit of realism into their perfect little moment.

"You're such an idiot, you know," she said softly. "How you can be so smart and so dumb at the same time is a total mystery to me."

The succubus wrapped her arms around the valkyrie's neck and grinned cheekily. "I see that remedial course in Pillow Talk 101 is doing wonders for you, valkyrie."

"I'm serious, Bo," the blonde replied, holding the succubus a little closer, just because. "All of that shit you just spouted about me? I'm none of those things."

Bo smirked. "I think I can make that determination for myself, Tamsin, thank you very much."

"And I think your hunger is making you delusional...but if you're stupid enough to believe all that crap you just said, I'm not going to waste my time setting the record straight."

The succubus didn't want Tamsin to give a lot of thought how hungry she was and deftly changed the subject. "Speaking of setting things straight, let the record show that I kept my end of the bargain and stayed on my side of the counter. And that you kissed me first, not the other way around."

"Shut up, Bo," the valkyrie whispered against the succubus's smirking lips and took her in another series of mind blowing kisses before realizing foggily that Bo had not fed on her during any part of this exchange. Which was odd because she sensed, in ways she wasn't sure she wanted to get to the bottom of, that Bo was very hungry right now.

And yet, she wasn't feeding.

She pulled back again but this time, rather than eyeing the succubus dreamily, though she'd die before ever applying that particular adjective to her expressions, she was scowling at the brunette. A much more appropriate look for a valkyrie of her stature.

"Do you have any idea how bright your eyes are glowing right now, succubus?"

Bo looked away, knowing she was busted and attempted to come up with some way to divert Tamsin's attention away from the situation but the valkyrie had already realized what she was going to try to do and decided to stop her before she got started.

"Actually, I'm glad this came up now because I think, if we're going to proceed with our little...whatever, that I need to get something off my chest first."

Bo groaned as Tamsin pulled her over to a stool and forced her to sit and sat in a stool opposite her.

The valkyrie mentally rolled her eyes, this situation feeling like it was going to evolve into one of those touchy-feely moments she'd steadfastly avoided over the centuries, but knowing it was a necessary evil; and for Bo, she'd do just about anything. Even this.

"I've known plenty of succubi throughout my lifetimes, Bo; and I know what it takes to keep a succubus healthy...and that's lots and lots of sex."

"Oh God, you're setting ground rules, aren't you?" the brunette moaned.

Tamsin frowned, perturbed at having been interrupted and by what Bo said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ground rules. About who you don't want me to feed off of, et cetera. Like Dyson for instance, right?"

"Why the hell would I ever lay down ground rules? You're not a damn child, Bo. I'm sure you can figure out what you do and don't want to do but I'm glad you're going there because that kind of helps me get to my point."

The succubus's brow furrowed but she stayed quiet and listened to whatever the blonde had to say.

"Okay look. Bottom line is that I've got chi to burn, okay? It's good and it's strong and it'll keep you super charged for a long time. It is, put simply, friggin' awesome chi," Tamsin smirked and Bo couldn't help but smile back. "So I would hope that, while we're doing this...thing we're doing, that you'll, you know, take advantage of that. A lot. I mean whenever you need it or want it or whatever," she cleared her throat awkwardly and Bo thought it was absolutely adorable.

She also wanted to continue walking without a limp so she decided to keep her personal observations to herself.

"But I'm not always going to be around, you know." The succubus felt her heart clench and Tamsin realized how that sounded and backpedaled. "I mean, I'm going to be AROUND for another several thousand years, but I just might not be, like, available. Or you might not be around me when you need a boost or whatever. What would you do if you were injured? Die rather than feed to heal yourself? That'd be idiotic. So, I mean, one or both of us might not be here when you need a succu-pick-me-up and you need to keep yourself healthy. Get it?"

Bo's expression communicated her confusion and Tamsin groaned internally. _Stupid damn touchy-feely shit_.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is I want you to be okay, okay? So like do whatever you have to do to stay in one piece. Feed off of whoever or whatever keeps you alive and safe. And that includes Dyson. Hell, why wouldn't it? I hear his chi isn't half bad even though he is just a wolf," Tamsin grinned. "But I would hope that while we're, you know, whatever we are, that you would come to me first. To feed, I mean." The valkyrie cleared her throat awkwardly again and Bo just about burst into giggles at the cuteness of the act.

The succubus took the blonde's hand and caressed her palm with her thumb. "I gotta say, valkyrie, for our first relationship chat this isn't all that bad." Tamsin frowned at the word "relationship". That was just a little too Hallmark greeting card-ish for her tastes. Bo continued, "You know, generally speaking, it's not in the nature of a succubus to want a monogamous relationship; but I'd like to make the following commitment to you, if you'll let me?"

She could tell the blonde was a little skittish and a lot uncomfortable, but she pressed on because she felt this was important and would set the tone for what they were to be to each other. "I cannot promise never to feed off of another because, like you said, neither of us know what might happen and emergency situations might force me to outsource my chi requirements," the succubus grinned softly. "But I can and do promise you this, I want you to be the only lover of choice I have. I will not seek out another as long as we're together."

Tamsin's breath caught in her throat, more than a little overwhelmed by what was truly a stunning promise from a succubus. Bo was understating how much variety meant to succubi, "generally speaking" or otherwise. They not only enjoyed mixing it up, they usually thrived on the experience of sex with multiple partners, sometimes all at once.

And yet, Bo just committed to only be with her, to feed only from her as much as she was able.

Of course that brought up another serious point and Tamsin knew she'd have to strike while the iron was hot and while Bo was in such a receptive frame of mind.

"Why didn't you feed on me just now, Bo?" The valkyrie leaned forward with serious eyes, confronting the trapped succubus. "I can feel how hungry you are right now, you know."

Bo pulled back and turned guilty eyes away, ashamed at having given in to her fears and unable to voice what was bothering her. That was okay. Tamsin had already figured out the problem.

"It's because of what happened, isn't it? In the arena?"

"Well, what do you think?" Bo snapped, frustrated and irritated at her own weakness. "Of course it is! I mean, I killed you! God," she groaned as she jumped out of her stool and paced to lose a little of the excess nervous energy. "I had already hurt you earlier when I practically raped you outside of the Wanderer's base and then inside..."

"You have to let that go, Bo. All of it. Believe me when I say I have. And please also believe me when I tell you I didn't regret what happened then and I don't now."

Bo sighed without responding. Not that she really had to at that point.

"You know, all this commitment shit we're talking here is pretty meaningless if you don't want to feed off of me."

"I do! Dammit, Tamsin. I DO want to feed off of you. I've told you before, your chi is easily the best I've ever tasted. It's just...I remember hurting you and..." Bo sighed. "You're right. I just have to work this out somehow. And fast."

The valkyrie saw how bummed the conversation was making the hungry brunette and decided it was time for a little levity.

"I could make you, you know, succubus," she smirked, hoping Bo would take her up on the challenge and see the fun in the game, which could serve the dual purpose of helping her get over her mental speed bump over pulling chi from the willing blonde and dealing with her hunger issues.

Bo was surprised that Tamsin would make light of a power game but then realized she was the only one still having a problem with what took place three days ago. She smirked back, "Oh I don't know, valkyrie. I'm pretty damn stubborn when I put my mind to something."

Gauntlet thrown and challenge accepted. Tamsin's smirk widened as she slid off of her stool and sauntered over toward the brunette who was doing her best to not look very interested in seeing what the valkyrie had in mind. But Tamsin upped the ante and focused on her own attraction to Bo, thinking about their various interactions from the kiss in Brazenwood to when Bo pounced on her on the footlocker to the erotic dream that came to life on Trick's hardwood floor, knowing each memory would cause her aura to spike and that the succubus would feel it.

"That's cheating," Bo hissed.

"All's fair, succulette," the valkyrie whispered before pulling the brunette to her and holding her gently but lovingly against her body. But as soon as Tamsin had Bo in her arms, she realized that as much as she wanted Bo to feed she also felt the need to communicate something deeper than physical attraction. She sucked with words but perhaps they weren't needed in this instance.

Perhaps actions could speak louder than a socially inept, romance deficient valkyrie ever could.

Of course the idea of expressing her feelings, no matter the manner in which she expressed them, made her very nervous. More than that, it scared her to death. In searching her memories from over the centuries, she realized she never bothered with that aspect of coupling. Sure, she had had countless lovers, both male and female; but that had been more about experiencing pleasure and releasing tension; never about feelings.

She had never risked her heart before. A tender-hearted valkyrie was a miserable valkyrie given the responsibilities her kind were given. She regularly had to take people she liked...make them go away...so it was safer just to not like anyone at all.

Which is why it was all the more important to her that she make an exception in this case. Opening herself up and sharing herself meant risking pain and that was a notion she never had entertained before. But for Bo, and only for Bo, she would do it.

For Bo, she would take the leap because for the first time in her many lifetimes, the potential rewards were worth the risk.

If only she knew where to start.

Bo's mind was a jumble of runaway thoughts and emotions. Tamsin, much to her surprise, had unconsciously pulled her closer and cradled her head to her shoulder and began to lightly sway as though to music only she could hear. Her other hand had found its way underneath the seam of Bo's shirt and was tracing random patterns on her skin, and it was driving the succubus slowly mad.

When she had first agreed to this little duel, she figured the valkyrie would hit the accelerator and amp up the sexual energy. But what the blonde was doing was significantly more effective as it was entirely unexpected. And, she suspected, entirely without thought.

She nuzzled the valkyrie's neck and sighed, warmed by the tender touches and loving embrace.

Tamsin's brow furrowed as she realized what she had been doing while she had allowed her mind to wander. As she felt Bo's breath on the side of her neck, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was better by far than sex for the sake of having sex. This innocent moment of closeness meant more to her than all the empty physical encounters of her life combined because this was special. This was with Bo.

If only she could tell Bo what she meant to her.

The succubus pulled her head away from her shoulder and Tamsin could tell that the brunette was nervous but also ready to feed. The blonde put on the most confident, self-assured expression she could muster and hoped that Bo could see that she truly was not worried about Bo hurting her.

With a shaky hand, Bo gently traced the side of Tamsin's face and sent trails of erotic bliss into the valkyrie as she slowly leaned forward and initiated a soft kiss to pull a very small stream of chi from the blonde.

Or at least that was Bo's intent. As always, she found it difficult to pull away from Tamsin's delicious chi and struggled in her efforts to maintain control.

The succubus forced herself to stop and pulled away to gauge Tamsin's reaction, to see if the valkyrie was in any way upset or hurt or put off by her feeding off of her, since to date, the blonde had always exhibited at least some small outward tell as to how uncomfortable, and sometimes painful the experience was.

And was stunned by the look in the valkyrie's eyes and by what she felt radiating off of her.

Tamsin's mind was a muddled mess of passion and overwhelming emotions. She had been expecting the element of pain she usually felt when being fed off of, at least that was the case before she expired this last time.

But now, not only was there no pain, there was a new sensation added to the mix that turned her mind to mush.

Bo watched in wonder as she saw the valkyrie's eyes darken in passion and felt wave after wave of not only her arousal, but also the depth of her feelings for her. That was new. And startling.

She could not help but go back for more; and this time the kiss was incendiary as each fae woman unleashed her passion on the other, unfettered and uncontrollable. Arms and hands grasped and clenched frantically as each sought purchase on the other and the kiss took on a life of its own. Bo felt herself being walked backward until the back of her legs hit the couch and she fell backward, trusting that Tamsin would control their fall.

The kiss continued throughout and as more chi was being taken from her, the valkyrie felt her emotions swirl further and further out of control. Bo continued to push countless waves of sensual bliss into her from where their skin made contact and Tamsin was beside herself with need.

Until finally, Bo broke the kiss and each took in much needed oxygen. The succubus looked up into the valkyrie's passion infused expression and felt relief that she hadn't hurt her in anyway with her vigorous feed but was also confused by the myriad of sensations she was experiencing.

"I'm...I've had enough," the succubus admitted.

"Told ya my chi was super powered."

Bo's expression was thoughtful. "You did. And you seem...okay. More than okay actually. You aren't hurt at all or weakened at all. Are you?"

Tamsin smirked in response, but otherwise said nothing.

"I've...never experienced anything like that. We didn't even have sex and I'm...well, I'm full. For now at least," Bo grinned.

The valkyrie gently traced Bo's eyebrows and cheeks with her fingertips. "Well, I guess we'll just have to boink like bunnies just for the hell of it then."

The succubus's grin grew as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and teased her. "Now that's what I call romantic. Such a sweet talker you are."

Tamsin's brow furrowed as she pulled back and sat up next to the succubus, who quickly pulled herself up to sit next to her.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

The valkyrie sighed. "I wish I were sometimes, you know."

Bo tilted her head in confusion.

"A sweet talker. It's not really a skill a valkyrie needs, you know; but it would be helpful right about now. Then I could tell you... you know...like...how I, um, feel..."

Tamsin exhaled sharply, frustrated by her inability to express herself. The words came easily to her as long as they were trapped within the confines of her mind. There, she was able to articulate how she felt about this impossible being, this miracle who dropped into her life and saved her from herself and who made her feel things she never gave herself permission to feel before. But as soon as the words tried to make themselves known to the outside world, they were confused and distorted and became a source of irritation for the valkyrie.

Bo reached over and lightly grasped Tamsin's hand, tracing the contours gently with her thumb. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I already know."

The valkyrie looked both confused and slightly flustered. "What do you know and how exactly do you know it?"

The succubus sighed. She wasn't really planning on going into this right now. "I don't know how exactly but just now...after I first took a little of your chi...I...I felt something. Something new. For starters, I could feel that you really, really enjoyed it," Bo grinned and Tamsin smiled sheepishly. "Increased arousal is not the usual response I get from someone I'm feeding from, which is why I usually, um..."

"...use your special powers of persuasion."

"Right. Exactly. But just now with you, there was something more. I could feel...what you were feeling, and I don't just mean physically. I could sense your emotions."

"Huh. That's... uh...I don't know how I feel about that, actually."

Bo grinned cheekily. "I know. I can tell."

Tamsin shook her head. "Wow. And this is a totally new things for you, is it?"

The succubus nodded. "Yeah. I mean look. It would have been helpful to know that Dyson had lost his ability to love me when the Norn took it from him or that Lauren was so irritated and frustrated with our relationship that she was ready to throw in the towel. Instead I had no idea until it was too late in either circumstance and was completely taken by surprise both times."

"You just suck at reading people," the valkyrie smirked.

Bo's eyes narrowed playfully. "Yeah, I seem to recall you saying something of that nature before."

"I wish I knew what to tell ya, Bo. I've never encountered that trait in a succubus before, at least not that I was aware of; not that this is a power that someone would likely advertise, given the advantage it gives them over others."

"I just...I wish I knew where it came from, you know? Is this new ability to sense strong emotions from those I feed from because of my Dawning? Or is it because I 'merged'," Bo air quoted, "with a super powerful demon version of me? Or is this...something else?"

"Maybe it's something you got from your asshole of a father," the blonde chimed in helpfully.

"If that's the case, then at least...at least the experience wouldn't have been entirely negative."

"I don't see it as entirely negative at all, succubus," Tamsin began seriously. "It's because of your father that you were brought into my life in the first place. If it hadn't been for him, we might never have met or gotten as close to each other as we have." The succubus was smiling softly as the valkyrie mentally replayed her last sentence. "Holy shit...did I really just say something THAT cheesy? ALOUD?"

"I'm afraid so, TamTam," Bo whispered as she gently traced the contours of the blonde's face. "Looks like I'm already starting to influence the way you talk and act around me."

Tamsin mirrored Bo's actions, lovingly outlining Bo's cheekbones with her fingertips, and regarded her seriously so the succubus would understand the import of the moment. "Only for you, Bo. And only with you."

She pulled the succubus closer and lightly began to gently nibble on her lips, which she had quickly figured out drove Bo nuts. The statement wasn't needed, Bo hazily considered. She had already figured out that Tamsin was letting her see a side she would show no other and recognized the value in such an incredible gift.

"Only for you, Tamsin. And only with you." she echoed, making sure the valkyrie knew she understood what Tamsin had said as she restated her promise from earlier to remain true to her as much as she was able.

She was awash in sensation, feeling not only her own emotions boil over but the blonde's as well. It was powerful to know she evoked such feelings in another. It was humbling and precious and she knew she would never take it nor the valkyrie's openness to her for granted.

Tamsin pulled the brunette closer so that now the succubus was seated in her lap, each clinging tightly to the other as the kiss evolved and grew into more than just an expression of passion. More than just physical attraction. The intensity of the exchange seemed to grow even as the kisses remained slow and loving. There was just so much more there now. So many feelings between the two of them that Bo was completely overwhelmed by the bliss of it all. Tamsin's taste. The heat of her mouth. Of her soft as spun silk skin. Of her fingers gently scratching the back of her neck with one hand while the other found its way back under her shirt and traced the edge of her spine.

_It's like liquid velvet_, Tamsin mused foggily, groaning softly at the heat of Bo's mouth as the brunette's tongue teased and caressed her own and then sucked on it enticingly. A promise being made and received by each of them as they continued to trade caresses on the couch.

"Bo-Bo! You here?"

Tamsin groaned again, this time for an entirely different reason. Both the valkyrie and the succubus listened as Kenzi breezed past them, completely unaware of their presence as she made her way to the kitchen to fix herself a bowl of ice cream.

"You know how I feel about the short stack, Bo, but sometimes..."

"Sometimes. Yeah, I know," the succubus replied, equally irritated that her beloved bestie had cockblocked her again with Tamsin. _What does that make now, three times? Four?_ "Let me go get rid of her and we can..."

"No, it's okay, succulette," the valkyrie grinned as she pulled herself together.

And Bo didn't have to ask if she were serious because she could feel the blonde put up emotional walls and calm her rattled nerves. It was an awe inspiring position to be in, seeing this side of this fae woman, sensing the way she protected herself from the inside out rather than just as a bystander. She wondered remotely if she would be able to sense the emotions of others she had fed off of before or if Tamsin was just a special case, and figured it was probably the latter.

The valkyrie eyed her pleadingly and Bo understood and honored her need for privacy; but the succubus raised her eyebrows in reply and Tamsin understood her meaning as well. That this was Kenzi and eventually the blonde would have to let down a few more of her barriers because she was a major part of Bo's life. She rolled her eyes and grinned and Bo knew all would be okay between them.

The entire nonverbal conversation took only a few seconds so when both of them stood, Kenzi had barely gotten her bowl out of the cupboard and was startled by their sudden appearance.

"Oh! You're here! So the truck repair kit snatching thingie worked, right? Not that I meant anything bad by it so please don't valkyrie me into doing something unnecessarily painful to myself, Tambourine-o," the young human pled at the valkyrie's scowl.

Tamsin kept up the intense, irritated expression as she walked around the counter, and grabbed the stunned girl and gave her the noogie of a lifetime.

"HEY! Whoa, dude!"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, shortie. Just remember I keep a very accurate tally and I ALWAYS get what's owed me," the valkyrie growled as Bo looked on, attempting to hide the smile inching its way onto her face.

"Ha! Well, that's like equal parts comforting and disturbing, Tammers," Kenzi mumbled nervously and Tamsin smirked playfully as she ruffled her hair one last time and looked Bo in the eyes, pleased to see that the succubus noticed her efforts to try to open up a little more around Kenzi.

The look between them must have lasted longer than either of them realized as the human girl watched the way each of them looked at the other and drew all sorts of very accurate and detailed conclusions. "So, hey you two, I was just thinking we need some chocolate sauce and whipped cream. For the ice cream, I mean, but also maybe for other things. So I'll be back in like a half hour or so. Or longer, because, you know, it's not always so easy to find just the right toppings to complement a dessert of this caliber. Or the ice cream either."

"S'okay, half pint," Tamsin answered as she continued to eye the succubus longingly. "But thanks anyway." The inference was clear. No amount of time Kenzi offered to disappear would be long enough to suit her needs. "I've got to head out for a little while to take care of a few things anyway."

"But you'll be back," Bo replied. A statement, not a question.

Tamsin leaned over and grazed the brunette's cheek with her fingertips. "Count on it, succulette. After all, we still have unfinished business, you and I."

The valkyrie left the club house and Bo let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"You forgot to put up the sock, Bo-Bo!" Kenzi chided as she smacked her arm.

"Yeah, uh...sorry about that, Kenz. Things kind of got away from me a little bit there."

"Ha, no kidding Captain Understatement," Kenzi quipped. "So? What happened after you left the Dal? Details, Bo! Don't forget, this friendship has certain requirements, you know!"

The succubus sighed thoughtfully. "To be honest...I'm still kind of processing it all. But the bottom line is...don't be surprised when you start seeing a certain valkyrie spending more time over here."

"An overnighter? Or have we gotten that far yet?" the young goth girl pressed cheekily.

"Oh, definitely an overnighter. And I think, a whole lot more," the succubus mused.

"It's about friggin' time," Kenzi teased. "I'll be sure to pick up an extra tube of toothpaste while I'm at the store getting the toppings. You know, for the ice cream." She winked and left the kitchen.

The succubus leaned against the counter and took a minute to wonder just what did a chocolate and whipped cream covered valkyrie taste like?

And then laughed out loud at the absurdity of wasting time asking herself such a silly question.

She'd find out soon enough.


End file.
